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CHRONICLES

The Cape Fear River

1660-1916

JAMES SFRUNT

SECOND EDITION

RALEIGH

Edwards & Broughton Printing Co.
1916

1235117

<Uo

SAMUEL A’COURT ASHE

A LOYAL AND DEVOTED

SON OF THE CAPE FEAR

IN RECOGNITION OF HIS EMINENT SERVICE TO OUR COMMON-
WEALTH AND TO LITERATURE IN HIS ADMIRABLE HISTORY
OF NORTH CAROLINA A WORK OF SUCH PARTICU-
LAR MERIT AS TO BRING CREDIT TO HIS
BIRTHPLACE AND TO ADD TO THE
HIGH FAME OF
THE CAPE FEAR PEOPLE

Preface

The reception of the Cape Fear Chronicles , not only by
friends of the author but by the general reader, and in particu-
lar by historical scholars, has been most unusual. The general
expression of gratification at its publication and the generous
recognition of its value are emphatic assurances that Mr.
Sprunt’s endeavor to preserve the memories of the Cape Fear
has been appreciated beyond his expectations. Numerous and
insistent have been the requests for a second edition, to which he
has finally yielded, and in doing so he has embodied much addi-
tional matter of interest and importance equal to that contained
in the first edition. The incorporation of this new matter has
necessitated some changes in the old, most of which have been
merely verbal, but in a few instances more important changes
have been made to secure greater uniformity and conform to
more recent information concerning certain local traditions and
memories. No trouble has been spared in either edition to
secure the greatest exactitude in details, and especially has this
been true of the edition now presented.

Mr. Sprunt has long been interested in historical literature,
and through his liberality many publications of interest and
value have in recent years been made. The fund he placed at
the disposal of the University of North Carolina has enabled
that institution to publish a series of historical monographs of
peculiar interest, the one published in 1903 being of particular
importance to Wilmington and the Cape Fear people. And in
addition to being a liberal promotor of the writings of others,
his personal output in the field of historical literature has been
a distinctive and valuable contribution. His research has been
extensive and remarkably successful ; especially has he been in-
defatigable in rescuing from oblivion the history of the Cape
Fear and clothing in his own inimitable style the romantic tales
and stirring deeds that belong to the development of that section
of North Carolina.

In recognition of his service to the State in constructive citi-
zenship and in his writings and in appreciation of his personal
excellence and merit, the University of North Carolina last
year conferred upon Mr. Sprunt the degree of doctor of laws.
And more recently the old historic College of William and

Preface

Mary, in Virginia, chartered in 1693, unanimously elected him
a member, causa honoris , of the Alpha Chapter of the Phi Beta
Kappa Society of that college. This is the honor literary
society of America, organized at William and Mary in 1776,
and in the selection of those invited to become members the
greatest care is exercised, membership being equivalent to an
honorary degree conferred by any of our colleges and giving
the recipient special distinction. g ^ Ashe

November 10, 1916.

Contents

PAGE

Foreword ix

Exploration and Settlement: Origin of the Name Cape Fear —

The Cape Fear River and Its Tributaries — The Cape Fear
Indians — Notes on the Archaeology of New Hanover County —
Indian Mounds on the Cape Fear — Indians of the Lower
Cape Fear — Report of the Commissioners sent in 1663 to
Explore the Coast — Charlestown, the First Attempted Set-
tlement on the Cape Fear — Sandford’s Account of Conditions
on Charles River — End of the Settlement on Charles River,
the First Charlestown — Cape Fear Pirates of 1719 1

Permanent Settlement: The Town of Brunswick — A Visit to the

Cape Fear in 1734 — Erection of Wilmington, Decay of Bruns-
wick— The Spanish Invasion, 1747 — The War of Jenkins’ Ear
— The Site of Fort Johnston — Colonial Plantations on the
Cape Fear — Colonial Orton — Crane Neck Heron Colony on
Orton Plantation — Plantations on the Northeast — Social Con-
ditions— Libraries on the Cape Fear — Colonial Governors of
North Carolina — Colonial Members of the General Assembly. . 38

Resistance Before the Revolution: The Stamp Act on the Cape

Fear — William Houston, the Stamp Master: Another View-
point— Russellborough, Scene of the First Armed Resistance
— The Sons of Liberty in North Carolina 91

The Revolution: Institution of Revolutionary Government — Pro-

ceedings of the Committee of Safety — Whigs and Tories —

The Battle of Elizabethtown — Old-Time Cape Fear Heroes —
Cornelius Harnett’s Will — Flora Macdonald 110

Early Years: Alyre Raffeneau Delile — Beginning of Federal For-

tifications on the Cape Fear — The First Steamboat on the
Cape Fear River — The Disastrous Year of 1819 — Other Early
Fires — First Cape Fear Improvements — Railroads, the First
Project — The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad — The Com-
merce of Wilmington — Wilmington in the Forties — The Pub-
lic Spirit of Wilmington — Activities on the River, 1850-1860
— Forgotten Aids to the Navigation of the Cape Fear — Cape
Fear Coal — Fayetteville on the Cape Fear 130

Notable Incidents: Visits of Presidents of the United States to

Wilmington before the War — The Visit of Henry Clay — The
Visit of Daniel Webster — The Visit of Edward Everett — Re-
ception of the Remains of John C. Calhoun — The Death of
General James Ivor McKay — Governor Edward B. Dudley —

The Wilkings-Flanner Duel 208

Vlll

Contents

PAGE

Interesting Memories: Old School Days in Wilmington — Colonel
James G. Burr — The Thalian Association — A Fragmentary
Memory of Johnson Hooper — Joseph Jefferson — Immortality
— The Jenny Lind Incident 238

War Between the States: On the Eve of Secession — A Capture

Before the War — Early War Times — Changes during the
War — Mrs Armand J. DeRosset — Confederate Heroes — The
Roster of Cape Fear Camp, U. C. V. — Fort Caswell — Fort
Fisher 268

Blockade Running: Financial Estimates of Blockade Running —

The Port of Wilmington during the War — Cape Fear Pilots
— Narratives of Distinguished Blockade Runners — Rescue of
Madame DeRosset — Improved Ships and Notable Command-
ers— North Carolina Blockade Runner Advance — Other Ves-
sels Famous in Blockade Running — The Last Days of Block-
ade Running — The Confederate Navy — Wilmington during
the Blockade — The First and Second Attacks upon Fort
Fisher — The Capture of Wilmington — The Use of Torpedoes
in the Cape Fear during the War 387

Peace Restored: Resumption of Cape Fear Commerce — Trade of

Wilmington, 1815, 1843, 1872 — Cuban Man-of-War Incident —

Board of Commissioners of Navigation and Pilotage — Cape
Fear Aids to Navigation — General Character of the Coast —

United States Revenue-Cutter Service — Cape Fear Life-Sav-
ing Service — Use of Oil to Prevent Breaking Seas — Visits of
the Cruiser Raleigh — Federal Government Improvements of
the Upper Cape Fear — Disastrous Fires — The Earthquake of
1886 — The Visit of President Taft — Woodrow Wilson’s Youth ,

in Wilmington — Southport on the Cape Fear — Fort Caswell
at the Present Time — The Proposed Coastal Canal — Munici-
pal Government in Wilmington — The Revolution of 1898 —

Cape Fear Newspapers — The Wilmington Bar — Honorable
George Davis, Attorney General of the Confederacy — George j

Davis: An Appreciation — The George Davis Monument —

Alfred Moore Waddell: Author — Bishop Robert Strange —

North Carolina Society of Colonial Dames of America —

Places of Historic Interest in North Carolina Relating to the
Colonial Period Yet Unmarked — Luola Murchison Sprunt:

An Appreciation — The Boys’ Brigade — Public Buildings in |

Wilmington — Wilmington Churches — Wilmington Schools —

Loyalty of the Cape Fear People to the State University —

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad — The Seaboard Air Line j

Railroad — Hugh MacRae’s Activities — The River Counties —

The Growth of Wilmington — Looking Forward 501 |

Foreword

From early youth I have loved the Cape Fear River, the
ships and the sailors which it bears upon its bosom. As a hoy
I delighted to wander along the wharves where the sailing
ships were moored with their graceful spars and rigging in
relief against the sky-line, with men aloft whose uncouth cries
and unknown tongues inspired me with a longing for the sea,
which I afterwards followed, and for the far-away countries
whence they had come.

In later years, I heard the stories of the old-time Cape Fear
gentlemen, whose memories I revere, and I treasured those
annals of our brave and generous people ; I knew all the pilots
of the Cape Fear, whose record of brave deeds and unswerving
loyalty to the Confederacy, under great trial and temptation,
and whose steadfast industry in their dangerous calling are
worthy of all praise ; and now, actuated by an earnest desire to
render a public service after many years’ contact with its men
and affairs, I have essayed to write in the following pages a
concise narrative of the sources and tributary streams of the
Cape Fear River, the origin of its name, the development of
its commerce, and the artificial aids to its navigation, with a
few historic incidents of its tidewater region.

The limited scope of this undertaking does not reach beyond
the mere outlines of its romantic, dramatic history, of which
much has been ably written by George Davis, Alfred Moore
Waddell, Samuel A’Court Ashe, and other historians of the
Cape Fear.

I have often looked from my window upon the historic river
and seen the white sails glistening in the morning light, and
when the evening shadows deepened I have gazed upon the wide
expanse resplendent with the glory of the stars and have heard
the sailors in the bay singing “Larboard watch, ahoy!” while
the anchor lights of half a hundred ships were twinkling at
their moorings, and it was something to remember in after
years.

Memory lingers with a certain endearment upon the daily
activities in the harbor in that far-gone day, when the course of
life was more attuned to the placid flow of the river than in this
rushing, jarring time. ~No more is heard the long-drawn cry of

Foreword

the stevedore, “Go ahead, horse” and “Back down lively.” No
more do we hear the song of the chanty man rise shrill and clear
to the accompaniment of chuckling blocks and creaking yards,
nor the hearty, deep tones of the chorus as the old-time sailor
men tramped round the windlass from wharf to wharf, singing :

“Oh, blow, ye winds, I long to hear you,

Blow, bullies, blow!

Oh, blow today and blow tomorrow,

Blow, my bully boys, blow!

“Oh, blow today and blow tomorrow,

Blow, bullies, blow!

Oh, blow away all care and sorrow,

Blow, my bully boys, blow!”

“A tremulous echo is all that is left of these old-time re-
frains,” hut some of our older citizens will recall these plaint-
ive though senseless ditties, also the John Kooner songs, which
have enlivened many a dull hour in the old seaport of the Cape
Fear.

Many years ago, when the arched courthouse stood at the foot
of Market Street, a party of prominent citizens were discussing
under its roof the events of the day in the soft light of a beauti-
ful full moon, and while they talked they heard the tramp of
twenty sailor men from a near-by French ship moored at Market
Dock; and then in clear and exquisite tones the sailors sang
with all the enthusiasm it inspired the Marseillaise battle
hymn. Colonel Burr, who heard them, told me many years after
that it was one of the most delightful memories of a lifetime.

But now the distracting hammering against rusting steel
plates, the clanking of chains against the steamship’s sides, and
the raucous racket of the steam donkey betoken a new era in
the harbor of Wilmington ; yet the silent river flows on with the
silent years as when Yassall sent the first settlers, or as when
Flora Macdonald sailed past the town to the restful haven of
Cross Creek; and the Dram Tree still stands to warn the out-
going mariner that his voyage has begun and to welcome the
incoming storm-tossed sailor to the quiet harbor beyond.

I have obtained the data of the commercial development of
the river largely from official sources or reliable records, and I
have copied verbatim, in some technical detail, the generous
responses to my inquiries by Maj. H. W. Stickle, Corps of
Engineers, U. S. A. ; Capt. C. S. Bidley, assistant engineer, IT.

Foreword

S. A.; Mr. E. C. Merritt, assistant engineer; Mr. Joseph Hyde
Pratt, State geologist ; Dr. J oseph A. Holmes, director Bureau
of Mines; Capt. G. L. Carden, commanding IT. S. revenue
cutter Seminole ; Mr. H. D. King, inspector lights and light-
houses, Sixth District, and Hon. S. I. Kimball, general super-
intendent of the Life Saving Service, now embraced in the
Coast Guard, to each of whom I make this grateful acknowl-
edgment.

This book is intimately associated with two good friends,
Capt. Samuel A’Court Ashe and Miss Eosa Pendleton Chiles,
to whom I am especially indebted for their invaluable aid, and
sympathy, and advice ; for without their generous assistance this
work might not have been accomplished.

Exploration and Settlement

ORIGIN OF THE NAME CAPE FEAR.

By George Davis.

The origin of the name Cape Fear and its confusion in some
of our early maps with Cape Fair led, many years ago, to a dis-
cussion by the Historical and Scientific Society of Wilmington,
of which this writer was the secretary. A prominent Wiiming-
tonian of his day, Mr. Henry Nutt, to whose indefatigable, in-
telligent efforts and public spirit the closure of New Inlet was
largely due, stoutly maintained in a forceful address before that
body that the name was originally Fair and not Fear.

Mr. George Davis subsequently took the opposite view in his
valuable contribution entitled An Episode in Gape Fear History,
published in the South Atlantic Magazine, January, 1879, which
.1 here reprint under the above title.

Is it Cape Fair? Or Cape Fear? Adjective or noun?
“Under which king, Bezonian?” This old familiar name
under which our noble river rolls its waters to the sea, is it the
true prince of the ancient line, or a base pretender, usurping
the seat of the rightful heir, and, after the fashion of usurpers,
giving us terror for beauty, storm for sunshine?

There are some among our most intelligent citizens who
maintain that the true name was, and ought to be now, Cape
Fair; and that it was originally so given because the first adven-
turers, seeing with the eye of enthusiasm, found everything here
to be fair, attractive, and charming. And it has even been said
very lately that it was never called by its present name until
after 1750, and never officially until 1780. (Address of H.
Uutt before H. and S. Society.) Unfortunately, in the mists
which envelop some portions of our early history, it is some-
times very difficult to guard against being betrayed into erro-
neous conjectures by what appear to be very plausible reasons;
and the materials for accurate investigation are not of easy ac-
cess. It is not surprising, therefore, that this opinion should
have existed for some time, not generally, but to a limited ex-
tent. Beyond all doubt it is erroneous, and the proofs are con-
clusive that our people have been right in finally rejecting the
Beautiful theory, and accepting the Fearful. I know of no au-
thority for this opinion except the occasional spelling of the
word. The strength of the argument seems to be this : Captain
l

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Hilton was sent in 1663 for the purpose of examining the coun-
try; he did examine it, reported in glowing terms as to its
beauty and attractiveness, and throughout his report spelled the
name Fair. I answer, Very true. But three years later, in
1666, Robert Horne published his Brief Description of Carolina >
under the eye, and no doubt by the procurement, of the Pro-
prietors ; he describes the country in much more glowing terms
of praise than Hilton did, but spells the name, throughout,
Fear. And where are we then? And later still, in 1711, a high
authority, Christopher Gale, chief justice of North Carolina,
like a prudent politician who has not made up his mind which
party to join, spells it neither Fair nor Fear, but Fare. (2
Hawks, 391.) That the name in early times was not infre-
quently spelt Fair is unquestionable. Besides Hilton’s report,
it is so given in the Letter of the English Adventurers to the
Proprietors, 1663 ; in the Instructions of the Proprietors to
Governor Yeamans, 1665 ; in Lawson’s history and map, 1709 ;
and on Wimble’s map, 1738. And perhaps other instances
may be found.

But all these, if they stood alone and unopposed, could
hardly form the basis of any solid argument. For all who are
accustomed to examine historical documents will know too well
how widely independent of all law, if there was any law, our
ancestors were in their spelling, especially of proper names.
Pen in hand, they were accustomed to dare every vagary, and
no amount of heroic spelling ever appalled them.

Some examples will be instructive in our present investiga-
tion. Take the great name of him who was “wholly gentleman,
wholly soldier,” who, falling under the displeasure of a scoun-
drel King and languishing for twelve long years under sentence
of ignominious death, sent forth through his prison bars such
melodious notes that the very King’s son cried out, “Ho mon-
arch in Christendom hut my father would keep such a bird in a
cage” ; who, inexhaustible in ideas as in exploits, after having
brought a new world to light, wrote the history of the old in a
prison, and then died, because God had made him too great for
his fellows — that name which to North Carolina ears rings
down through the ages like a glorious chime of bells — the name
of our great Sir Walter. We know that it was spelt three dif-
ferent ways, Raleigh, Ralegh, and Rawlegh.

And Sir Walter’s heroic kinsman, that grand old sea-king
who fought his single ship for fifteen straight hours against

Exploration and Settlement

fifteen Spaniards, one after another, muzzle to muzzle, and
then yielded up his soul to God in that cheerful temper where-
with men go to a banquet: “Here die I, Richard Greenville,

and with a joyful and quiet mind, having ended my life like a
true soldier that has fought for his country, Queen, religion,
and honor.7’ He was indifferently Greenville, Grenville, and
Granville.

And take another of these sea-kings of old who sailed to
America in the early days — that brilliant, restless, daring
spirit who crowded into a few brief years enough of wild adven-
ture and excitement to season a long life, and then died little
more than a boy — he was indifferently Cavendish and Candish.

Who, without assistance, could recognize Bermuda in the
“still vexed Bermoothes” of Shakespeare? And Horne’s pam-
phlets, of which I have spoken, could only improve it into
Barmoodoes.

Coming down to the very time of which we are speaking, one
of the first acts of the Lords Proprietors after receiving their
magnificent grant was to publish the important document to
which I have alluded, the Declaration and Proposals to all who
will plant in Carolina. It is signed by some of the most famous
names in English history — George, Duke of Albemarle, the
prime mover in bringing about the restoration of the King;
Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor, and grand-
father of two English queens, but far more famous as the author
of that wonderful book, the History of the Great Rebellion ;
Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord High Chancellor and one
of the greatest parliamentary leaders that England ever pro-
duced, but far greater as the author of that second charter of
Anglo-Saxon liberties, the Habeas Corpus Act. This very gifted
and very famous Earl of Shaftesbury, who, I am sorry to say,
was more distinguished for brilliant talents than for virtuous
principles, besides being one of the Proprietors had an addi-
tional claim to our remembrance which has not been generally
known. At a meeting of the Proprietors held at the Cockpit
the 21st of October, 1669 (Rivers, 346), he was elected the first
chief justice of Carolina. As he never visited America I pre-
sume his office was in a great degree purely honorary. But he
certainly executed its functions to the extent at least of its offi-
cial patronage. Eor the record has been preserved which shows
that on the 10th of June, 1675, by virtue of that office, he ap-
pointed Andrew Percival to be register of Berkeley Precinct.

4 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

He had not then been raised to the peerage, hut was only Sir
Anthony Ashley Cooper. He gave his two family names to the
rivers at Charleston, and then took himself the title of Shaftes-
bury.

Such were some of the signers of this pamphlet. Surely these
men knew. Surely they would give us some unimpeachable
English. Well, we have an exact copy of the pamphlet and I
give you my word that, according to our notions, the spelling
of it is enough to put the whole school of lexicographers in a
madhouse. Instance the following : u Clar ending, ’: ’ “Horthine,”
“plantacon,” “proposealls,” “grannte,” “ingaige,” “groathe,”
etc., etc. These examples, which might he indefinitely multi-
plied, are sufficient to show that he is a hold speculator who will
venture to build an opinion on the spelling of a name.

But the opposing proofs are quite conclusive, and I do not
scruple to promise that for every authentic map or document,
prior to the year 1700, in which the name is written Fair, I
will point out at least two in which it is written as at present.
An examination of some of the most important of them will
remove all doubt from the subject.

In DeBry’s map of Lane’s expedition, 1585, no name is given
to the cape, hut we find it distinctly laid down, and indicated
by two Latin words which are very significant, promontorium
tremendum. And in the narrative of Sir Richard Greenville’s
first expedition, in the same year, we find the very first recorded
mention of the name, which ought to he sufficient of itself to
fix its certainty for all time. Eor we read there, for the month
of June, 1585, this entry: “The 23d we were in great danger

of a wreck on a breach called the Gape of Fear.”

And two years later, in the narrative of the first voyage
under White, we are told in July, 1587, that “had not Captain
Stafford been more careful in looking out than our Simon
Fernando, we had been all cast away upon the breach called
the Cape of Fear.”

And here we have another orthographic problem to solve.
Both of these old worthies speak of the Cape of Fear as being
not a beach , hut a breach ; and, on the strength of that, possibly
some severe precisian may hereafter start the theory, and prove
it too, that the cape was no cape at all, hut only a breach or
channel through the Frying Pan Shoals.

Coming down near a hundred years to the time of the first
settlements, we find the original spelling preserved in the Letter

Exploration and Settlement

of the Proprietors to Sir William Berkeley, 1663 ; in the Pro-
posals of the Proprietors already mentioned, 1663 ; in Horne’s
Brief Description of Carolina and on the accompanying map,
1666 ; in the map styled A New Description of Carolina , 1671 ;
in the Instructions of the Proprietors to the Governor and
Council of Carolina, 1683, and in a great many others.

These proofs would seem to leave nothing wanting to a clear
demonstration of the real name. But there is something yet to
be added. They show that during the same period of time the
name was spelt both ways indifferently, not only by different
persons, but the same persons, who had peculiar means of
knowing the truth. It is clear, therefore, that the two modes
were not expressive of two different ideas, but only different
forms of expressing the same idea. What then was the true
idea of the name — its raison d’etre ?

In pursuing that inquiry our attention must he directed to the
cape alone, and not to the river. For, as we have seen, the cape
bore its name for near a hundred years during which the river
was nameless, if not unknown. And, when brought into notice
afterwards, the river bore at first a different name, and only
after some time glided into the name of the cape. Thus, in the
Letter of the Proprietors to Sir William Berkeley, 8th of Sep-
tember, 1663, after directing him to procure a small vessel to
explore the sounds, they say, “And whilst they are aboard they
may look into Charles River a very little to the Southward of
Cape Fear.” And so in the Proposals of the Proprietors, 15th
of August, 1663, “If the first colony will settle on Charles
River, near Cape Fear,” etc., etc., and in Horne’s map, 1666,
the name is Charles River.

Looking then to the cape for the idea and reason of its name,
we find that it is the southernmost point of Smith’s Island — a
naked, bleak elbow of sand, jutting far out into the ocean. Im-
mediately in its front are the Frying Pan Shoals, pushing out
still farther, twenty miles, to sea. Together they stand for
warning and for woe; and together they catch the long majestic
roll of the Atlantic as it sweeps through a thousand miles of
grandeur and power from the Arctic towards the Gulf. It is the
playground of billows and tempests, the kingdom of silence and
awe, disturbed by no sound save the sea gull’s shriek and the
breakers’ roar. Its whole aspect is suggestive, not of repose and
beauty, but of desolation and terror. Imagination can not adorn
it. Romance can not hallow it. Local pride can not soften it.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

There it stands today, bleak, and threatening, and pitiless, as it
stood three hundred years ago, when Greenville and White came
nigh nnto death upon its sands. And there it will stand, bleak,
and threatening, and pitiless, nntil the earth and the sea shall
give up their dead. And, as its nature, so its name, is now,
always has been, and always will be, the Cape of Fear.

THE CAPE PEAR RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.

The Cape Fear River, said to have been known to the Indian
aborigines as “Sapona,” later to the explorers and to the pro-
moters in England as the Charles River, and the Clarendon
River, is formed by the junction of the Haw and the Deep
Rivers, in Chatham County, North Carolina. From their con-
fluence, which is about 173 miles by river above Wilmington,
it flows in a southeasterly direction through Harnett, Cumber-
land, and Bladen Counties, and between Brunswick and New
Hanover to the sea. The Haw River rises in Rockingham and
Guilford Counties and flows in a southeasterly direction through
Alamance, Orange, and Chatham Counties to .its junction with
the Deep River, a distance of about 80 miles, measured along
its general course. The Deep River is of about the same length
as the Haw. It rises in Guilford County and flows through
Randolph and Moore Counties, and joins the Haw in Chatham.

The Deep River drains about 1,400 square miles. Its tribu-
taries are only small creeks, the most important being Rocky
River. The Haw River drains about 1,800 square miles, and
its tributaries are also small, but are larger than those of the
Deep River. The principal ones, descending from the head-
waters, are Reedy Fork, Alamance Creek, Cane Creek, and
New Hope River.

Between the junction of the Deep and the Haw Rivers and
Fayetteville, a distance of about 58 miles, the most important
tributaries which join the Cape Fear are Upper Little River,
from the west, 32 miles long; and Lower Little River, from
the west, 45 miles long. There are other small creeks, the most
important being Carver’s Creek and Blount’s Creek.

Between Wilmington and Fayetteville the most important
tributary is Black River, which enters from the east about 15
miles above Wilmington and has a drainage basin of about
1,430 souare miles. There are several creeks which enter

Exploration and Settlement

below Fayetteville, the principal one being Rockfish Creek,
which enters 10 miles below Fayetteville.

The entire drainage basin above Fayetteville covers an area
of 4,493 square miles, and the total drainage area of the Cape
Fear and all its tributaries is about 8,400 square miles.

At Wilmington the Cape Fear River proper is joined by the
Northeast Cape Fear River. Their combined average dis-
charge at Wilmington for the year is about 14,000 feet a
second. Floods in their tributaries have but little effect on the
water level at Wilmington. The lower river is tidal, and the
effects of tidal variations are felt about 40 miles above the city
on both branches.

The city of Wilmington is on the east side of the river, oppo-
site the junction of the two branches, and nearly all wharves,
mills, and terminals are situated on the same side. The width
of the river at Wilmington is 500 to 1,000 feet. Four miles
below, it becomes 1% miles wide, and is of the nature of a tidal
estuary, varying in width as it flows to the sea from 1 to 3 miles.
The distance from Wilmington to the ocean is 30 miles.

Improvements Below Wilmington.

The improvement of the river was begun by the State of
North Carolina between Wilmington and Big Island by em-
bankments, jetties, and dredging in 1822, and continued until
1829, when the Federal Government undertook the work of im-
provement and continued it to 1839. Work was resumed in
1847 and continued up to the War between the States. It was
again resumed in 1870 and has been carried on continuously
since that date.

A report of the Committee on Bar and River Improvements
to the Chamber of Commerce, January 15, 1872, contains the
following interesting information:

“The earliest reliable information we have of the Cape Fear
River, its entrance and harbor, is to be found in a map by
Edward Moseley, in 1733, and another by James Wimble, in
1738. Both of these maps, although apparently imperfect,
nevertheless represent the harbor as capacious, of good anchor-
age, well landlocked, easy of access, and with four fathoms
water upon the bar (supposed at mean low tide). About this
draught of water wTas carried by a bold and direct channel on
the west side of Big Island1 to the town of Wilmington.

irnie river channel was at that time on the west side of Big Island.
Since then it has been artificially diverted to the east side of Big Island.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“The next we hear of the Cape Tear River is through Wheel-
er’s History of North Carolina (extracted from the London
Magazine ), giving an account of the most violent equinoctial
storm which had ever occurred along the coast, forcing open an
entrance into the river at a point known as the ‘Haul-over,’ now
known as the Hew Inlet. This storm commenced on the 20th
of September, 1761, and lasted four days.

“This inlet, from long neglect, has become formidable, de-
tracting a large portion of the river water from its legitimate
outlet, to the great detriment of the river and lower harbor.

“In 1775, a map of the Cape Fear River, more accurate in
its details than the two first alluded to, was published in Lon-
don, which laid down the Hew Inlet, but did not materially
vary the harbor, outlet, or draught of water upon the bar, or the
channel of the river up to the town of Wilmington.

“At a meeting of the Safety Committee of Wilmington, held
on the 20th of Hovember, 1775, John Ancrum presiding, the
following preamble and resolutions were passed:

“ ‘The committee, taking into consideration the damage with which
the inhabitants of the Cape Fear River are threatened by the King’s
ships now in the harbor, and the open and avowed contempt and viola-
tion of justice in the conduct of Governor Martin, who, with the assist-
ance of said ships, is endeavoring to carry off the artillery, the prop-
erty of this province, and the gift of his late Majesty of blessed mem-
ory, for our protection from foreign invasion, have

“ ‘Resolved, That Messrs. John Forster, William Wilkinson, and John
Slingsby, or any one of them, be empowered to procure necessary ves-
sels, boats, and chains, to sink in such part of the channel as they or
any of them may think proper, to agree for the purchase of such boats
and other materials as may be wanted, and to have them valued, that
the owners may be reimbursed by the public. And it is further ordered,
that the said John Forster & Co. do consult the committee of Brunswick
on this measure and request their concurrence.’

“A knowledge of the men of that period, with the boisterous
circumstances which surrounded them, is sufficient evidence
that this order was implicitly obeyed and effectually executed,
no report of their action being required or expected.

“Tradition assures us that these obstacles were placed across
the channel at Big Island. We therefore feel justified in say-
ing that the channel, as laid down by all previous maps, was,
at that time and place, obstructed agreeably to the order> as
subsequent events would seem to imply. From time to time,
logs, stumps, and other drift matter brought down by freshets

Exploration and Settlement

lodged against the obstructions, backing up nearly to the nar-
rows and forming wbat is known as the flats or shoal of logs,
which, as it increased, gradually forced the water through an
opening on the west side of Big Island, and in course of time
scoured out a channel sufficient to accommodate the commerce
of the port, and so remained until the year 1826.

“In the year 1797-8, a survey and map of the Cape Bear
Elver, its harbors and outlets, was made by Joshua Potts. At
this time, thirty-seven years after the breaking out of New In-
let, we find very little alteration in the harbor or outlet — the
bar representing 20 feet of water (supposed at mean low tide),
while the channels of the river up to Wilmington had under-
gone material change, and very much depreciated.7’

A report of the same committee, made four years earlier
than the one just quoted, refers to the Potts survey, and says :

“Older charts than this exhibit a greater draught of water,
particulars of which, however, are not accurately remembered
by your committee. Many old citizens now living remember
to have seen at our wharves vessels drawing 15 to 18 feet of
water. But about the year 1820, as the depth of water in-
creased on Eew Inlet, in like proportion it diminished on the
Main Bar, maintaining upon both the aggregate of about 25
feet. The late Capt. Thomas E. Gautier, who was a merchant
of this place during the period of time included between the
years 1790 and 1810, told one of your committee that during
that period, among many others, he had loaded one ship to 30
feet draught, which proceeded down the river to sea, on her
voyage to London, without difficulty or interruption. These
facts in the history of the past are conclusive evidence, in the
minds of your committee, that the true and real cause of the
present alarming condition of the navigation of our bars and
river is to be found in the existence of the Eew Inlet, and that
alone.”

A report of Alexander Strauss to the mayor and aldermen of
Wilmington, under date of March 6, 1870, says:

“The bar in the Old Ship Channel has shoaled 2% feet
in the last five years, and therefore any procrastination in the
work will he injurious to our commerce, as I believe it can
be shown that year by year since 1840 the obstruction has in-
creased, and unless speedy action is taken it will result in the
total destruction of our harbor. I base my opinion on data
gained from different surveys made from the year 1733 to

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

1869. On the survey of 1733, a depth of 21 feet is shown in
the Old Ship Channel at mean low water, and in 1869 only
5 y2 can be found in the same channel.”

The condition of the river prior to the opening of New Inlet
(which occurred during an equinoctial storm in 1761) is rather
uncertain, but old maps indicate that there was a low-water
depth of 14 feet across the bar at the mouth, the least depth
between Wilmington and the mouth being 7% feet. There is
also some uncertainty as to the conditions in 1829, when the
improvement was undertaken by the United States, but the
most reliable information is that there wTas then about 7 to 7%
feet at low water in the river, about 9 feet in Bald Head Chan-
nel, 9 feet in Rip Channel, and 10 feet at New Inlet. Work on
the bar was begun in 1853, at which time the bar depths at low
water were 7% feet in Bald Head Channel, 7 feet in Rip Chan-
nel, and 8 feet at New Inlet, the governing low- water depth in
the river having been increased to 9 feet.

The original project of 1827 was to deepen by jetties the
channel through the shoals in the 8 miles next below Wilming-
ton. This project resulted in a gain of 2 feet available depth.
The project of 1853 was to straighten and deepen the bar chan-
nel by dredging, jettying, diverting the flow from the New
Inlet, and closing breaches in Zeke’s Island. This project was
incomplete when the War between the States began. Up to that
time, $363,228.92 had been spent on the improvement. The
work done during this period was measurably successful. The
report of the commission of 1858 referring to it says:

“The works recommended by the hoard of 1853 were, in the
opinion of the commission, entirely efficient, so far as they were
carried out, having, as is shown by the Coast-Survey maps,
caused an increase in the depth of Oak Island Channel of be-
tween one and two feet.”

After the war the first project was that of 1870, to deepen
the bar channel by closing breaches between Smith’s and Zeke’s
Islands, with the ultimate closure of New Inlet in view. The
project of 1873 included that of 1870 and in addition the dredg-
ing of the bar channel and the closing of New Inlet. This work
was in charge of Gen. J. H. Simpson, U. S. A., who was suc-
ceeded in the management of it by Col. William P. Craighill.
The main construction was under Maj. Walter Griswold, assist-
ant engineer, whose services were able and highly acceptable.
Mention should he made also of Henry Nutt, Esq., chairman

Exploration and Settlement

of the Committee on Bar and Kiver Improvements of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, whose activities greatly advanced the work.
The Wilmington Journal of March 20, 1872, contains the fol-
lowing acknowledgment of his services:

“We are unwilling to give expression to the bright hopes of
the future we anticipate for our goodly old town. But whether
that success he attained in full or scant measure, the name of
Henry Hutt will, and ought to be, held in grateful remembrance
by all our people to the last generation, as the earnest, persist-
ent, and enthusiastic friend of this great work.’7

The project of 1874 was to obtain by dredging a channel 100
feet wide and 12 feet deep at low water up to Wilmington.
The project of 1881 was to obtain by dredging a channel 270
feet wide and 16 feet deep at low water up to Wilmington.
These projects had been practically completed in 1889. At that
time the expenditure since the war amounted to $2,102,271.93.

The project adopted September 19, 1890, was to obtain a
mean low- water depth of 20 feet and a width of 270 feet from
Wilmington to the ocean. This project has been modified sev-
eral times.

For the five years ending June 30, 1915, there was expended
for river improvements $1,440,844.02, and the commerce on
the Cape Fear River at and below Wilmington averaged 929,-
336 tons, with an average valuation of $50,978,671.06 for the
five calendar years. At the close of the year ending June 30,
1915, there had been a total expenditure of $5,974,868.48. The
project below Wilmington under execution was adopted in the
River and Harbor Act approved July 25, 1912, and provides
for a channel depth of 26 feet at mean low water, with a width
of 300 feet, increasing at the entrance and curves in the river
and widening to 400 feet across the bar. The project is eighty
per cent completed, the depth having been secured throughout
the entire distance, additional work being required only to
widen the channel where the width is deficient. On June 30,
1915, a mean low-water channel 26 feet deep and from 280 to
400 feet wide existed on the ocean bar and 26 feet deep and 300
feet wide in the river channels, excepting at Snow’s Marsh
Channel, where the 26-foot channel was from 150 to 270 feet
wfide.

The various projects adopted by the Federal Government
involved the closing of Hew Inlet and the construction of a
defensive dike from Zeke’s Island, on the south side of Hew

12 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Inlet, to Smith’s Island. The dam closing Hew Inlet was con-
structed between 1875 and 1881 and is 5,300 feet long. It is
built of stone, its first cost being $540,237.11. It was badly
damaged by a storm in 1906, and the cost of its restoration and
of other minor repairs made since its completion was $103,-
044.75, making its total cost to date $643,281.86. Swash De-
fense Dam, south of Hew Inlet, was constructed between 1883
and 1889 and is 12,800 feet long. It is also built of stone, the
first cost being $225,965. The cost of restoring this dam after
the storm of 1906, including other repairs made since its com-
pletion, was $170,109.53, making the total cost to date $396,-
074.53. With the exception of the construction of these two
dams, the results have been accomplished almost wholly by
dredging.

It is interesting to note in this connection that the total ex-
penditures of the Federal Government upon Charleston Harbor
to June 30, 1915, amounted to $5,084,771.90, and the total
expenditures on Cape Fear River at and below Wilmington to
the same date was $5,985,990.01.

Hortheast Cape Fear River.

Hortheast Cape Fear River has a total length of 130 miles
(70 miles in a straight line) and has been under improvement
since 1890, the project including the clearing of the natural
channel for small steamers to Hallsville, 88 miles above its
mouth, and for pole boats to Kornegay’s Bridge, 103 miles
above its mouth.

The work has consisted in removing snags and other inci-
dental obstructions from the channel and leaning trees from the
banks. F or several years past, work has been for the purpose of
maintenance only. To June 30, 1913, there had been spent on
this stream for improvement and maintenance $33,738.86. At
present 8 feet can be carried to Rocky Point Landing, 35 miles
from the mouth, 5 feet to Smith’s Bridge, 52 miles up, and 3
feet to Croom’s Bridge, 8 miles further, at all stages. Above
that point it is only navigable during freshets.

Black River.

This stream has been under improvement since 1887. The
original project of 1885 included clearing the natural channel
and banks to Lisbon and cutting off a few points at bends,

Exploration and Settlement

modified in 1893, and omitting the part above Clear Run, 66
miles above the mouth. This was completed in 1895. Since
that time it has been under maintenance. The total amount
expended to June 30, 1913, for improvement and maintenance
was $32,877.26. The work has consisted in removing obstruc-
tions from the channel and leaning trees from the banks, and in
a small amount of dredging.

At present a depth of 5 feet can be carried to Point Caswell
at low stages, above which point there is but little navigation
excepting during freshet stages.

Town Creek.

Town Creek is a tributary to Cape Fear River, entering it
from the west about 7% miles below Wilmington. It is not
now under improvement, but was placed under improvement in
1881, the project being to obtain 4-foot navigation at low water
by removing obstructions from the mouth to Saw-Pit Landing,
20 miles above. After spending $1,000, this project was aban-
doned. An appropriation of $8,500 was made in 1899 to be
expended in obtaining a mean low-water channel 5 feet deep
and 40 feet wide to Russell’s Landing, 19% miles above the
mouth, and to clear the creek to Rock’s Landing, about 4 miles
farther up. The 5-foot channel was obtained to Russell’s Land-
ing by dredging, and snags were removed from the channel for
the next mile above, when the funds were exhausted, and no
further appropriation has been made.

Brunswick River.

About four miles above Wilmington, the Cape Fear River
divides, the western branch forming Brunswick River. It flows
in a southerly direction and again enters the Cape Fear River
about four miles below Wilmington.

This river has never been under improvement, but the River
and Harbor Act of June 13, 1902, provides for an expenditure
not exceeding $1,000 of the money appropriated for the im-
provement of Cape Fear River, at and below Wilmington, in
removing obstructions at the lower mouth of Brunswick River.
Obstructions were removed from a width of 100 feet during
1903 at a cost of $519, securing a channel at its mouth 100 feet
wide and 7 feet deep.1

irrhe foregoing technical information is from the reports of the U. S.
Corps of Engineers, by the courtesy of Major Stickle.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

According to the recitals in the oldest deeds for lands on
Eagles’ Island and in its vicinity on either side, the Northeast
and the Northwest branches of the Cape Fear River come to-
gether at the southern point of that island. What is now called
Brunswick River, on the west side of the island, was then the
main River; and Wilmington was on the Northeast branch, and
not on the main stream of the Cape Fear. That portion of the
river which runs from the Northeast branch by Point Peter, or
Negrohead Point, as it is called, to the Northwest branch at the
head of Eagles’ Island, is called in the old deeds and statutes
of the State the “Thoroughfare,” and sometimes the “Cut-
through” from one branch to the other; and the land granted
to John Maultsby, on which a part of Wilmington is situated,
is described as lying opposite to the mouth of the “Thorough-
fare.” At another time, what is now known as Brunswick
River was called Clarendon River.

THE CAPE FEAR INDIANS.

The tribal identity of the Cape Fear Indians has never been
clearly established. We find Indian mounds, or tumuli, along
the river and coast and in the midland counties, and we are told
that the head waters of the Cape Fear River were known to our
aborigines as “Sapona,” a tribal name also known farther north,
and that “King” Roger Moore exterminated these Indians at
Big Sugar Loaf after they had raided Orton ; but there is noth-
ing in the mounds, where hundreds of skeletons are found, nor
in the pottery and rude implements discovered therein, to iden-
tify the tribe or prove the comparatively unsupported state-
ments which we have hitherto accepted as facts. Capt. S. A.
Ashe says: “The Cape Fear Indians along the coast were

Southern. The Saponas who resided higher up were probably
Northern. They were not exterminated by ‘King’ Roger; in
fact, in 1790 there were still some in Granville, and a consid-
erable number joined the Tuscaroras on the Tuscarora Reserva-
tion on the Roanoke. They were both Northern, probably,
otherwise the Saponas would not have been welcome.”

There is reason to believe the tradition, generally known to
our older inhabitants, that the Indians from the back country
came regularly in the early springtime to the coast of the Cape
Fear for the seawater fish and oysters which were abundant, and
that their preparation for these feasts included the copious

Exploration and Settlement

drinking of a strong decoction of yopon leaves, which produced
free vomiting and purgation, before they gorged themselves to
repletion with the fish and oysters.

The beautiful evergreen leaf and brilliant red berries of the
yopon still abound along the river hanks near the remains of the
Indian camps. The leaves were extensively used as a substitute
for tea, which was unobtainable during our four years’ war, and
the tea made from them was refreshing and tonic in its effects.

Dr. Francis P. Venable says: “It belongs to the Ilex , or

holly genus. My first analysis was on a small sample from Hew
Bern and showed 0.32 per cent caffeine. Securing a larger sam-
ple from near Wilmington, I found 0.27 per cent. The mate,
or Paraguay tea, is also gotten from an Ilex and contains 0.63
per cent. The percentage of tannin in the yopon is rather high
and I suppose has something to do with the medicinal effect.”

Dr. Curtis, an eminent botanist of Horth Carolina, says :
<e Yopon I. Cassine , Linn. An elegant shrub ten to fifteen feet
high, but sometimes rising to twenty or twenty-five feet. Its
native place is near the water (salt) from Virginia southward,
but never far in the interior. Its dark green leaves and bright
red berries make it very ornamental in yards and shrubberies.
The leaves are small, one-half to one inch long, very smooth and
evenly scalloped on the edges, with small rounded teeth. In
some sections of the lower district, especially in the region of
the Dismal Swamp, these are annually dried and used for tea,
which is, however, oppressively soporific — at least for one not
accustomed to it.”

Our yopon (the above) is the article from which the famous
Black Drink of the Southern Indians was made. At a certain
time of the year they came down in droves from a distance of
several hundred miles to the coast for the leaves of this tree.
They made a fire on the ground, and putting a great kettle of
water on it, they threw in a large quantity of these leaves, and
sitting around the fire, from a howl holding about a pint, they
began drinking large draughts, which in a short time caused
them to vomit easily and freely. Thus they continued drinking
.and vomiting for a space of two or three days, until they had
sufficiently cleansed themselves, and then, every one taking a
bundle of the leaves, they all retired to their habitations.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Notes on the Archaeology of New Hanover County.

By David I. Btjshnell, Jr.

It is with no small satisfaction that I have obtained by the
courtesy of such eminent authority as that of Mr. David I. Bush-
nell, jr., of the Bureau of American Ethnology, who is now in
Wilmington for investigations on the vanishing race, the follow-
ing paper; and Mr. Bushnell has quoted from Mr. W. B. McKoy’s
valuable contributions on the same subject. I also include Dr.
Joseph A. Holmes’s report upon his personal investigations of the
mounds in Duplin County, and a paper by Capt. S. A. Ashe on
the Indians of the Lower Cape Fear.

In reference to the Woccon, Saxapahaw, Cape Fear, and
Warrennnncock Indians, we find it stated: “Of the North

Carolina tribes hearing the foregoing names almost nothing is
known, and of the last two even the proper names have not been
recorded. The Woccon were Siouan; the Saxapahaw and Cape
Fear Indians presumably were Siouan, as indicated from their
associations and alliance with known Siouan tribes; while the
Warrennuncock were probably some people better known under
another name, although they cannot be identified.”1 Unfor-
tunately the identity of the Cape Fear Indians has not been
revealed, and it may ever remain a mystery. The name was
first bestowed, by the early colonists, upon the Indians whom
they found occupying the lands about the mouth of the Cape
Fear River, and more especially the peninsula now forming the
southern part of New Hanover County. It is also possible the
term “Cape Fear Indians” was applied to any Indians found in
the vicinity, regardless of their tribal connections, and, as will
be shown later, the area was frequented by numbers of different
tribes. Although the native people were often mentioned in
early writings, it is doubtful whether the Indian population of
the peninsula ever exceeded a few hundred.

Evidently Indians continued to occupy the lower part of the
peninsula until about the year 1725, at which time, according
to a well-substantiated tradition, they were driven from the
section. “Roger Moore, because of his wealth and large number
of slaves, was called ‘King’ Roger. There is a tradition on the
Cape Fear that he and his slaves had a battle with the Indians
at Sugar Loaf, nearly opposite the town of Brunswick. Gov-
ernor Try on, forty years later, mentions that the last battle with

^Mooney, James. The Siouan Tribes of the East. Bulletin Bureau of
Ethnology, Washington, 1894, p. 65.

Exploration and Settlement

the Indians was when driving them from the Cape Fear in
1725. The tradition would seem to he well founded.”1

At the present time, nearly two centuries after the expulsion
of the last Indian inhabitants from the peninsula, we find many
traces of their early occupancy of the area. Oysters and other
mollusks served as important articles of food, and vast quantities
of shells, intermingled with numerous fragments of pottery of
Indian make, are encountered along the mainland, facing the
sounds. These masses of shells do not necessarily indicate the
sites of villages, or of permanent settlements, hut rather of places
visited at different times by various families or persons for the
purpose of gathering oysters, clams, etc. The majority of these
were probably consumed on the spot, while others, following the
custom of the more northern tribes, may have been dried in the
smoke of the wigwam and thus preserved for future use.

The many small pieces of pottery found, mingled with the
shells, are pieces of vessels, probably cooking utensils, of the
Indians. Many pieces hear on their outer or convex surfaces
the imprint of twisted cords ; other fragments show the impres-
sions of basketry. In a paper read before the Historical and
Scientific Society, June 3, 1878, Mr. W. B. McKoy described
this stage of pottery-making, after the clay had been properly
prepared : “The mortar is then pressed by the hand on the in-

side of a hastily constructed basket of wickerwork and allowed
to dry for a while ; the basket is then inverted over a large fire
of pitch pine and the pot is gradually hardened and blackened
by the smoke, having the appearance of a thick iron pot. By
constant use afterwards the particles of carbon that have en-
tered the pores of the clay are burnt out and then the pot has a
red appearance.”2 Fragments occur upon which the designs are
characteristic of pottery from the interior and farther south;
other pieces are undoubtedly the work of the southern Algon-
quin tribes. Within a radius of about one hundred miles were
tribes of the Algonquin, Siouan, and Iroquoian stocks. Small
parties of the different tribes were ever moving from place to
place, and it is within reason to suppose that members of the
various tribes, from time to time, visited the Cape Fear penin-
sula ; thus explaining the presence of the variety of pottery dis-
covered among the shell-heaps on the shore of the sound.

^she, S. A. History of North Carolina. Greensboro, 1908. Vol. 1,
p. 213.

Published in the Daily Review, Wilmington, July 6, 1878.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The most interesting village site yet examined is located
about one and one-half miles south of Myrtle Sound, three miles
north of the ruins of Fort Fisher, and less than one hundred
yards from the sea beach. Three small shell-mounds are stand-
ing near the center of the area. The largest is about thirty
inches in height and twenty feet in diameter. Quantities of
pottery are scattered about on the surface, and a few pieces of
stone are to he found. Sugar Loaf is less than one mile from
this site in a northwesterly direction. Here, in the vicinity of
the three shell-mounds, was probably the last Indian settlement
on the peninsula.

A level area of several acres at the end of Myrtle Sound was
likewise occupied by a settlement, and fragments of pottery are
very plentiful, these being intermingled with quantities of oyster
and clamshells scattered over the surface. Many pieces of the
earthenware from this site are unusually heavy and are prob-
ably parts of large cooking vessels.

Northward along the sound are other places of equal inter-
est, some having the appearance of having been occupied during
comparatively recent years. This may be judged from the con-
dition of the shells and the weathering of the pottery. Other
remains may date from a much earlier period ; but all represent
the work of the one people, the Indians, who had occupied the
country for centuries before the coming of the Europeans.

On both sides of Hewlet’s Creek, near its mouth, are numer-
ous signs of Indian occupancy. On the north side, in the rear
of the old McKoy house, are traces of an extensive camp, and
many objects of Indian origin are said to have been found here
during past years. On the opposite side of the creek is a large
shell-heap in which fragments of pottery occur. Several miles
northward, on the left bank of Barren Inlet Creek, about one-
half mile from the sound, are signs of a large settlement. Here
an area of four or five acres is strewn with pottery. This was
probably the site of a permanent village as distinguished from
the more temporary camps met with on the shore of the sound.

A careful examination of various sites existing on the penin-
sula would be of the greatest interest. The burial places of the
ancient inhabitants of the country would undoubtedly be dis-
covered, and this would assist in the identification of the people
who bore the name “Cape Fear Indians/7 all traces of whom
are so rapidly disappearing.

Exploration and Settlement

Indian Mounds of the Cape Fear.

By Prof. J. A. Holmes.

(Wilmington, N. C., Weekly Star, October 26, 1883. Reprinted Journal Elisha
Mitchell Scientific Society 1883-4, pages 73 to 79.)

So far as is known to me, no account of the Indian burial
mounds which are to be found in portions of eastern Morth
Carolina, has, as yet, been published. This fact is considered a
sufficient reason for the publication of the following notes con-
cerning a few of these mounds which have been examined in
Duplin and some other counties in the region under consid-
eration.

It is expected that the examination of other mounds will be
carried on during the present year, and it is considered advisable
to postpone generalized statements concerning them until these
additional examinations have been completed. It may be stated,
however, of the mounds that have been examined already, that
they are quite different from those of Caldwell and other coun-
ties of the western section of the State, and of much less interest
so far as contents are concerned. As will he seen from the
following notes, they are usually low, rarely rising to more than
three feet above the surrounding surface, with circular bases,
varying in diameter from 15 to 40 feet; and they contain little
more than the hones of human (presumably Indian) skeletons,
arranged in no special order. They have been generally built
on somewhat elevated, dry, sandy places, out of a soil similar to
that by which they are surrounded. Mo evidence of an excava-
tion below the general surface has as yet been observed. In the
process of burial, the hones or bodies seem to have been laid on
the surface, or above, and covered up with soil taken from the
vicinity of the mound. In every case that has come under my
own observation charcoal has been found at the bottom of the
mound.

Mound No. 1.— Duplin County, located at Kenansville, about
one-half mile southwest from the courthouse, on a somewhat
elevated, dry, sandy ridge. In form, its base is nearly circular,
35 feet in diameter; height 3 feet. The soil of the mound is
like that which surrounds it, with no evidence of stratification.
The excavation was made by beginning on one side of the mound
and cutting a trench 35 feet long, and to a depth nearly 2 feet
below the general surface of the soil (5 feet below top of mound),
and removing all the soil of the mound by cutting new trenches

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and filling up the old ones. In this way all the soil of the
mound, and for two feet below its base, was carefully examined.
The soil below the base of the mound did not appear to have
been disturbed at the time the mound was built. The contents
of the mound included fragments of charcoal, a few small frag-
ments of pottery, a handful of small shells, and parts of sixty
human skeletons. Ho implements of any kind were found.
Small pieces of charcoal were scattered about in different por-
tions of the mound, but the larger portion of the charcoal was
found at one place, 3 or 4 feet square, near one side of the
mound. At this place the soil was colored dark and seemed to
be mixed with ashes. There were here, with the charcoal, frag-
ments of bones, some of which were dark colored, and may have
been burned; hut they were so nearly decomposed that I was
unable to satisfy myself as to this point. I could detect no evi-
dence of burning, in case of the hones, in other portions of the
mound. Fragments of pottery were few in number, small in
size, and scattered about in different parts of the mound. They
were generally scratched and cross-scratched on one side, but no
definite figures could he made out. The shell “beads” were
small in size — 10 to 12 mm. in length. They are the Margi-
nella roscida of Redfield, a small gasteropod, which is said to he
now living along the coasts of this State. The specimens, about
75 in number, were all found together, lying in a hunch near
the skull and breastbones of a skeleton. The apex of each one
had been ground off obliquely so as to leave an opening passing
through the shell from the apex to the anterior canal — probably
for the purpose of stringing them.

The skeletons of this mound were generally much softened
from decay — many of the harder bones falling to pieces on be-
ing handled, while many of the smaller and softer hones were
beyond recognition. They were distributed through nearly
every portion of the mound, from side to side, and from the base
to the top surface, without, so far as was discovered, any definite
order as to their arrangement. Hone were found below the level
of the surface of the soil outside the mound. In a few cases the
skeletons occurred singly, with no others within several feet;
while in other cases, several were found in actual contact with
one another; and in one portion of the mound, near the outer
edge, as many as twenty-one skeletons were found placed within
the space of six feet square. Here, in the case last mentioned,
several of the skeletons lay side by side, others on top of these,

Exploration and Settlement

parallel to them, while still others lay on top of and across the
first. When one skeleton was located above another, in some
cases, the two were in actual contact; in other cases, they were
separated by a foot or more of soil.

As to the position of the parts of the individual skeletons,
this could not he fully settled in the present case on account of
the decayed condition of many of the bones. The following ar-
rangement of the parts, however, was found to he true of nearly
every skeleton exhumed. The bones lay in a horizontal position,
or nearly so. Those of the lower limbs were bent upon them-
selves at the knee, so that the thigh hone (femur) and the bones
of the leg (tibia and fibula) lay parallel to one another, the
bones of the foot and ankle being found with or near the hip
bones. The knee cap, or patella, generally lying at its proper
place, indicated that there must have been very little disturbance
of the majority of the skeletons after their burial. The hones
of the upper limbs also were seemingly bent upon themselves at
the elbow; those of the forearm (humerus) generally lying quite
or nearly side by side with the hones of the thigh and leg ; the
elbow joint pointing toward the hip bones, while the bones of
the two arms below the elbow joint (radius and ulna) were in
many cases crossed, as it were, in front of the body. The ribs
and vertehrse lay along by the side of, on top of, and between the
bones of the upper and lower limbs, generally too far decayed
to indicate their proper order or position. The skulls generally
lay directly above or near the hip hones, in a variety of posi-
tions ; in some cases the side, right or left, while in other cases
the top of the skull, the base, or the front, was downward.

But two of the crania (A and B of the following table)
obtained from this mound were sufficiently well preserved for
measurement; and both of these, as shown by the teeth, are
skulls of adults. C of this table is the skull of an adult taken
from Mound No. 2, below.

Crania.

Length.

Breadth.

Height.

Index of
Breadth.

Index of
Height.

Facial

Angle.

193 mm.

151 mm.

144 mm.

.746

74°

172 mm.

133 mm.

136 mm.

.772

.790

66°

180 mm.

137 mm.

147 mm.

.761

.816

63°

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The skeletons were too much decomposed to permit the dis-
tinguishing of the sexes of the individuals to whom they bo-
longed; but the size of the crania (adults) and other hones seem
to indicate that a portion of the skeletons were those of women.
One small cranium found was evidently that of a child — the
second and third pairs of incisor teeth appearing beyond the
gums.

Mound No. 2. — Located 1% miles east of Hallsville, Duplin
County, on a somewhat elevated, dry, sandy region. Base of
mound nearly circular, 22 feet in diameter; height, 3 feet, sur-
face rounded over the top. Soil similar to that which surrounds
the mound — light sandy. Excavations of one-half of the mound
exposed portions of eight skeletons, fragments of charcoal and
pottery, arranged in much the same way as described above in
case of Mound No. 1. The bones being badly decomposed, and
the mound being thoroughly penetrated by the roots of trees
growing over it, the excavation was stopped. No implements or
weapons of any kind were found. There was no evidence of
any excavation having been made below the general surface, in
the building of the mound, but rather evidence to the contrary.
The third cranium (C) of the above table was taken from this
mound.

Mound No. 3. — Located in a dry, sandy, and rather elevated
place about one-third of a mile east of Hallsville, Duplin
County. In size and shape this mound resembles those already
mentioned: Base circular, 31 feet in diameter; height 2%

feet. No excavation was made other than what was sufficient
to ascertain that the mound contained bones of human skeletons.

Mound No. Jf. — Duplin County, located in a rather level
sandy region, about one mile from Sarecta post office, on the
property of Branch Williams. Base of mound circular, 35 feet
in diameter ; height 2% feet. Soil sandy, like that which sur-
rounds it. Around the mound, extending out for a distance
varying from 5 to 10 yards, there was a depression, which, in
addition to the similarity of soils mentioned above, affords
ground for the conjecture that here, as in a number of other
cases, it is probable the mound was built by the throwing on of
soil from its immediate vicinity. Only a partial excavation
was made, with the result of finding human bones, and a few
small fragments of charcoal and pottery.

Since the above mounds were visited, I have obtained in-
formation as to the localities of mounds, similar to those de-

Exploration and Settlement

scribed in the eastern, southern, and western portions of Duplin
County; and I can hardly doubt but that a closer examination
of this region will prove them to be more numerous than they
are now generally supposed to be.

In Sampson County, the localities of several mounds have
been noted ; only one of these, however, so far as I am informed,
has been examined with care. This one (Mound Ho. 5), ex-
amined by Messrs. Phillips and Murphy of the Clinton School,
is located about 2 miles west of Clinton (Sampson County),
on the eastern exposure of a small hill. In general character
it resembles the mounds already described. Base circular, 40
feet in diameter; height 3% feet; soil sandy loam, resembling
that surrounding the mound. Contents consisted of small frag-
ments of charcoal, two bunches of small shell “beads,” and parts
of 16 human skeletons. These skeletons were not distributed
uniformly throughout the portion of the mound examined. At
one place there were 9, at another 6, and at a third 5 skeletons,
lying close to, and in some cases on top of, one another. In this
point as in the position of the parts of the skeletons (“doubled-
up”) this mound resembles those described above. The bones
were generally soft from decay. The small shells were found
in bunches under two skulls; they are of the same kind ( Mar -
ginella roscida, Redfield) as those from Mound Ho. 1, and their
ends were ground off in the same way. Ho bones were found
below the surface level, and there was no evidence of excava-
tions having been made below this point. Ho stone implements
of any kind were found in the mound. One-half of this mound
was examined.

In Robeson and Cumberland Counties several mounds have
been examined; and for information concerning these, I am
indebted to Mr. Hamilton McMillan.

Pive mounds are reported as having been examined in Robe-
son County, averaging 60 feet in circumference, and 2 feet
high, all located on elevated, dry ridges, near swamps or water-
courses ; and all contained bones of human skeletons. One of
these mounds, located about two miles east of Red Springs,
examined by Mr. McMillan in 1882, contained about 50 skele-
tons. Many of these bones near the surface of the mound, in
Mr. McMillan’s opinion, had been partly burned — those nearer
the bottom were in a better state of preservation. There was an
“entire absence of skulls and teeth” from this mound — a some-
what remarkable fact. A broken stone “celt” was found among

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the remains ; but with this one unimportant exception, no men-
tion has been made of implements having been found.

In addition to the above, Mr. D. Sinclair, of Plain View,
Robeson County, has informed me that he has seen four mounds
in the southern portion of this county — two near Brooklyn post
office, and two between Leesville and F air Bluff, about five miles
from the latter place.

In Cumberland County, two mounds are reported by Mr.
McMillan as having been examined. One of these, located
about ten miles south of Fayetteville, was found to contain the
crumbled bones of a single person, lying in an east and west
direction. There was also found in this mound a fragment of
rock rich in silver ore. The other mound, located ten miles
southwest from F ayetteville, near Bockfish Creek, was examined
by Mr. McMillan in 1860, and found to contain a large number
of skeletons, * * * bones were well preserved and, without
exception, those of adults. The mound was located on a high,
sandy ridge, its base about 20 feet in diameter ; height 2% feet.

In Wake County one mound has been reported as being located
on the northeast and several on the southwest side of the Reuse
River, about seven miles east from Raleigh ; and from the former
it is stated that a large number of stone implements have been
removed. But I have been unable to examine these or to obtain
any definite information concerning them. One mound in this
county, examined in 1882 by Mr. W. S. Primrose, of Raleigh, is
worthy of mention in this connection, as it resembles in general
character the mounds of Duplin County. This mound is located
about ten miles south of Raleigh, on a small plateau covered
with an original growth of pines. Base of mound circular,
about 14 feet in diameter; height 2 feet. The contents of the
mound consisted of small fragments of charcoal, and the bones
of 10 or 12 human skeletons, much decayed, and arranged, so
far as could he determined, without any reference to order or
regularity. No weapons or implements of any kind were found.

Indians of the Lower Cape Fear.

By S. A. Ashe.

The Indians along the Pamlico and Albemarle were of North-
ern origin; those on the Cape Fear were of Southern origin.
The Yamassees, who originally lived along the coast east of
Savannah, were driven back into Georgia soon after the settle-

Exploration and Settlement

ment. The Indians dwelling on the Santee, the Pee Dee, and
their branches, seem to have been different from the Yamassees,
and offshoots from one tribe or nation — the Old Cheraws. There
was an Indian tradition that before the coming of the English-
men the principal body of that tribe, called Cher aw- (or Chero-)
kees, after a long fight with the Catawbas, removed to the moun-
tains ; but the minor offshoots, along the rivers of South Caro-
lina, were not disturbed.

When the Cape Fear Indians were at war with the settlers at
Old Town, the Indians along the southern Carolina coast knew
of it, but did not take up arms against the English, and were
very friendly with those who, along with Sandford, visited them
in 1665. The Indians on the lower Cape Fear are said to have
been Congarees, a branch of the Old Cheraws. Soon after the
settlement, they were driven away. In 1731, Dr. Brickell, who
made an extended journey to the western part of North Caro-
lina in an embassy to the Indians in the mountains, in his Natu-
ral History of North Carolina , said: “The Saponas live on the
west branch of the Cape Fear River; the Toteras are neighbors
to them: the Keyawees live on a branch that lies to the north-
west.”

Two or three years later, Governor Burrington mentioned
that the small tribes that had resided near the settlements had
entirely disappeared; and in 1733, he also mentioned the fact
that “some South Carolina grants had been located on the north
side of the Waccamaw River, on lands formerly occupied by the
Congarees.”

The ending “ee” signifies, perhaps, “river.” It is surmised
that the true name of Lumber River was Lumbee. Another
termination was “aw” — Waxhaw, Saxapahaw, Cheraw, Bur-
ghaw. The Burghaw Indians occupied what we call Burgaw7.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS SENT FROM BARBA-
DOES IN 1663 TO EXPLORE THE COAST.

(Lawson’s History of North Carolina, page 113.)

From Tuesday, the 29th of September, to Friday, the 2d of
October, we ranged along the shore from lat. 32 deg. 20 min. to
lat. 33 deg. 11 min., but could discern no entrance for our ship
after we had passed to the northward of 32 deg. 40 min. On
Saturday, October 3, a violent storm overtook us, the wind being
north and east ; which easterly winds and foul weather continued
till Monday, the 12th; by reason of which storms and foul
weather we were forced to get off to sea, to secure ourselves and
ship, and were driven by the rapidity of a strong current to
Cape Hatteras, in lat. 35 deg. 30 min. On Monday, the 12th,
aforesaid, we came to an anchor in seven fathoms at Cape Fair
Road, and took the meridian altitude of the sun, and were in
lat. 33 deg. 43 min., the wind still continuing easterly, and foul
weather till Thursday, the 15th; and on Friday, the 16th, the
wind being N.W., we weighed and sailed up Cape Fair River
some four or five leagues, and came to an anchor in six or seven
fathom, at which time several Indians came on board and
brought us great store of fresh fish, large mullets, young bass,
shads, and several other sorts of very good, well-tasted fish. On
Saturday, the 11th, we went down to the Cape to see the English
cattle, but could not find them, though we rounded the Cape,
and having an Indian guide with us. Here we rode till October
24th. ’ The wind being against us, we could not go up the river
with our ship ; but went on shore and viewed the land of those
quarters.

On Saturday we weighed and sailed up the river some four
leagues or thereabouts.

Sunday, the 25th, we weighed again and rowed up the river,
it being calm, and got up some fourteen leagues from the har-
bor’s mouth, where we moored our ship.

On Monday, October 26th, we went down with the yawl to
Necoes, an Indian plantation, and viewed the land there.

On Tuesday, the 21th, we rowed up the main river with our
longboat and twelve men, some ten leagues or thereabouts.

On Wednesday, the 28th, we rowed up about eight or ten
leagues more.

Thursday, the 29th, was foul weather, with much rain and
wind, which forced us to make huts and lie still.

Exploration and Settlement

Friday, the 30th, we proceeded up the main river seven or
eight leagues.

Saturday, the 31st, we got up three or four leagues more, and
came to a tree that lay across the river; but because our provi-
sions were almost spent, we proceeded no further, but returned
downward before night ; and on Monday, the 2d of November,
we came aboard our ship.

Tuesday, the 3d, we lay still to refresh ourselves.

On Wednesday, the 4th, we went five or six leagues up the
river to search a branch that run out of the main river toward
the northwest. In which we went up five or six leagues; but
not liking the land, returned on board that night about mid-
night, and called that place Swampy Branch.

Thursday, November 5th, we stayed aboard.

On Friday, the 6th, we went up Green’s Biver, the mouth of
it being against the place at which rode our ship.

On Saturday, the 7th, we proceeded up the said river, some
fourteen or fifteen leagues in all, and found it ended in several
small branches. The land, for the most part, being marshy and
swamps, we returned towards our ship, and got aboard it in the
night.

Sunday, November the 8th, we lay still ; and on Monday the
9 th, went again up the main river, being well stocked with pro-
visions and all things necessary, and proceeded upward till
Thursday noon, the 12th, at which time we came to a place
where were two islands in the middle of the river ; and by rea-
son of the crookedness of the river at that place, several trees lay
across both branches, which stopped the passage of each branch,
so that we could proceed no further with our boat ; but went up
the river by land some three or four miles, and found the river
wider and wider. So we returned, leaving it as far as we could
see up, a long reach running N.E., we judging ourselves near
fifty leagues north from the river’s mouth.

*******

We saw mulberry trees, multitudes of grapevines, and some
grapes, which we eat of. We found a very large and good tract
of land on the N.W. side of the river, thin of timber, except
here and there a very great oak, and full of grass, commonly as
high as a man’s middle and in many places to his shoulders,
where we saw many deer and turkeys ; one deer having very
large horns and great body, therefore called it Stag Park.

It being a very pleasant and delightful place, we traveled in

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

it several miles, but saw no end thereof. So we returned to our
boat and proceeded down the river and came to another place,
some twenty-five leagues from the river’s mouth on the same
side, where we found a place no less delightful than the former ;
and, as far as we could judge, both tracts came into one. This
lower place we called Rocky Point, because we found many
rocks and stones of several sizes upon the land, which is not
common. We sent our boat down the river before us, ourselves
traveling by land many miles. Indeed we were so much taken
with the pleasantness of the country, that we traveled into the
woods too far to recover our boat and company that night.

The next day, being Sunday, we got to our boat; and on
Monday, the 16th of November, proceeded down to a place on
the east side of the river, some twenty-three leagues from the
harbour’s mouth, which we called Turkey Quarters, because we
killed several turkeys thereabouts. We viewed the land there
and found some tracts of good ground, and high, facing upon
the river about one mile inward ; but backward, some two miles,
all pine land, but good pasture ground.

We returned to our boat and proceeded down some two or
three leagues, where we had formerly viewed, and found it a
tract of as good land as any we have seen, and had as good tim-
ber on it. The banks of the river being high, therefore we
called it High Land Point.

Having viewed that, we proceeded down the river, going on
shore in several places on both sides, it being generally large
marshes, and many of them dry, that they may more fitly be
called meadows. The woodland against them is, for the most
part, pine, and in some places as barren as ever we saw land,
but in other places good pasture ground.

On Tuesday, November the 17th, we got aboard our ship,
riding against the mouth of Green’s River, where our men were
providing wood, and fitting the ship for sea. In the interim
we took a view of the country on both sides of the river there,
finding some good land, but more bad, and the best not com-
parable to that above.

Priday, the 20th, was foul weather ; yet in the afternoon we
weighed, went down the river about two leagues, and came to
an anchor against the mouth of Hilton’s River, and took a view
of the land there on both sides, which appeared to us much like
that at Green’s River.

Monday, the 23d, we went with our longboat, well victualed

Exploration and Settlement

and manned, np Hilton’s River ; and when we came three leagues
or thereabouts up the same, we found this and Green’s River to
come into one, and so continued for four or five leagues, which
makes a great island betwixt them. We proceeded still up the
river till they parted again; keeping up Hilton’s River, on the
larboard side, and followed the said river five or six leagues
further, where we found another large branch of Green’s River
to come into Hilton’s, which makes another great island. On
the starboard side going up, we proceeded still up the river,
some four leagues, and returned, taking a view of the land on
both sides, and then judged ourselves to he from our ship some
eighteen leagues W. by N.

****** -55-

Proceeding down the river two or three leagues further, we
came to a place where there were nine or ten canoes all together.
We went ashore there and found several Indians, but most of
them were the same which had made peace with us before. We
stayed very little at that place but went directly down the river,
and came to our ship before day.

Thursday, the 26th of November, the wind being at south, we
could not go down to the river’s mouth; but on Friday the 27th
we weighed at the mouth of Hilton’s River, and got down a
league towards the harbor’s mouth.

On Sunday, the 29th, we got down to Crane Island, which is
four leagues, or thereabouts, above the entrance of the harbor’s
mouth. On Tuesday, the 1st of December, we made a purchase
of the river and land of Cape Fair of Wat Coosa, and such other
Indians as appeared to us to be the chief of those parts. They
brought us store of fresh fish aboard, as mullets, shads, and
other sorts, very good.

There was a writing left in a post, at the point of Cape Fair
River, by those New England men that left cattle with the
Indians there, the contents whereof tended not only to the dis-
paragement of the land about the said river, but also to the great
discouragement of all such as should hereafter come into those
parts to settle. In answer to that scandalous writing, we, whose
names are underwritten, do affirm, that we have seen, facing both
sides of the river and branches of Cape Fair aforesaid, as good
land and as well timbered as any we have seen in any other part
of the world, sufficient to accommodate thousands of our Eng-
lish nation, and lying commodiously by the said river’s side.
On Friday, the 4th of December, the wind being fair, we put to

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sea, bound for Barbadoes; and on the 6th of February, 1663-4,
came to an anchor in Carlisle Bay — it having pleased God, after
several apparent dangers both by sea and land, to bring us all in
safety to our long-wished-for and much-desired port, to render
an account of our discovery, the verity of which we do assert.

Anthony Long.

William Hilton.

Petek Fabian.

CHARLESTOWN — THE FIRST ATTEMPTED SET-
TLEMENT ON THE CAPE FEAR.

The first trading on the Cape Fear River of which we have
any record was by a party of adventurers from Massachusetts
in the year 1660.

The historian Bryant says: “There were probably few bays
or rivers along the coast, from the Bay of Fundy to Florida,
unexplored by the New Englanders, where there was any prom-
ise of profitable trade with the Indians. The colonist followed
the trader wherever unclaimed lands were open to occupation.
These energetic pioneers explored the sounds and rivers south
of Virginia in pursuit of Indian traffic, and contrasted the
salubrity of the climate and the fertility of the soil with that
region of rocks where they made their homes, and where winter
reigns for more than half the year. In 1660 or 1661, a com-
pany of these men purchased of the natives and settled upon a
tract of land at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Their first
purpose was apparently the raising of stock, as the country
seemed peculiarly fitted to grazing, and they brought a number
of neat cattle and swine to be allowed to feed at large under the
care of herdsmen. But they aimed at something more than this
nomadic occupation, and a company was formed in which a
number of adventurers in London were enlisted, to found a
permanent colony.”

The most authentic account of the first settlement on the river
states that about the time the New Englanders explored that
region, John Vassall and others at Barbadoes, purposing to make
a settlement on the coast of Virginia, sent out Capt. William
Hilton in his ship, the Adventurer , to explore the coast ; and he
made a favorable report of the Cape Fear. Soon afterwards, the
New England colonists arrived, but, learning of Hilton’s visit,

Exploration and Settlement

thought it best not to make a settlement at that time; so they
turned loose their cattle on the island and left a paper in a box
stating that it was a bad place for a settlement. Vassall now
again sent Hilton and with him Anthony Long and Peter
Fabian to make a more thorough examination.

On Monday, October 12, 1663, the Adventurer came to anchor
a second time in what they called “The Cape Fair Roads,” and
then the explorers proceeded to examine the lands along the
river. Their “main river” was our Northeast. They called the
Northwest branch, the Hilton, and the “Cut-off,” the Green.
They ascended both branches about seventy-five miles and were
much pleased. Along the main river, they named Turkey Quar-
ter, Rocky Point, and Stag Park, names that have been perpetu-
ated to this day.

While these explorations were being made, the King granted
the whole country south of Virginia to the Lords Proprietors,
and the promoters of the proposed colony, both in New England
and in Barbadoes, applied to the Lords Proprietors for terms of
settlement. These gentlemen sought to foster the enterprise, and
in compliment to the King named the river, the Charles, and the
town to be built, Charlestown, and the region they called Clar-
endon County. Eventually, the New England Association, John
Vassall and his friends at Barbadoes, and Henry Vassall and the
other London merchants who were to supply the colony, were all
brought into a common enterprise; and on May 24, 1664, the
first settlers disembarked at the junction of the river and Town
Creek, about twenty miles from the bar. These were followed
by accessions from New England and Barbadoes until the num-
ber of colonists reached six hundred. John Vassall was ap-
pointed the surveyor and was the chief man in the colony, being
the leading promoter of the enterprise, while Henry Vassall
managed affairs at London. The Proprietors, however, selected
as governor the man they thought of greatest influence at Bar-
badoes, Col. John Yeamans; and the King, to show his favor
to the colony, conferred on Yeamans the honor of knighthood.
He also made a gift to the colony of cannon and munitions for
defense. In November, 1665, Sir John reached the colony, and
shortly thereafter the first assembly on the Cape Fear was held.
There was already a war with the Indians, arising, according to
some accounts, from the bad faith of the Massachusetts men who
had sold into slavery some Indian children, as well as the adult
Indians they were able to take prisoners. There was also dis-

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

satisfaction with the regulations of the Proprietors, and espe-
cially because the colonists were not allowed to elect their own
governor, as the people of Massachusetts did. Sir John soon
left the colony and returned to Barbadoes ; and as some of the
Proprietors had died, and, England being at war with Holland,
the others were too busy to attend to the affairs of the infant
colony, for more than a year Vassall’s appeals to the Proprietors
received no answer. The settlers becoming disheartened, Vas-
sall did all he could to satisfy them, but they felt cut off and
abandoned. After they had found a way to reach Albemarle and
Virginia by land, he could no longer hold them. On October 6,
1667, Vassall wrote from Nansemond, Virginia, a touching
account of the failure of the colony.

After the departure of the colonists from Charlestown in
1667, Clarendon County again became a solitude. A few years
later a new Charlestown was begun farther south, and in the
management of this new settlement Sir John Yeamans proved
himself a wise and efficient governor and a meritorious and
beneficent administrator. After his death the settlement was
removed to the junction of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, where
it flourished and endured.

SANDFORD’S ACCOUNT OF CONDITIONS ON
CHARLES RIVER.

(Colonial Records, Vol. I, page 119.)

The Right Honohle the Lords Proprietors of the Province of
Carolina in prosecucion of his sacred Maties pious intencons of
planting and civillizing there his domin'3 and people of North-
erne America, wch Neighbour Southward on Virginia (by some
called Florida (found out and discovered by Sr Sebastian Cabott
in the year 1497 at the charges of H : 7 : King of England co)
Constituted Sr. John Yeamans Baronet their JC Generali with
ample powers for placing a Colony in some of the Rivers to the
Southward and Westward of Cape S1 Romania who departing
from the Island Barbadoes in Octob: 1665 in a Ely boate of
about 150 Tonns accompanyed by a small Friggatt of his owne
and a Sloope purchased by a Comon purse for the service of the
Colonyes after they had been separated by a great storme att
Sea (wherein the Friggatt lost all her Mast and himself e had
like to have foundred and were all brought together againe in

Exploration and Settlement

the beginning of November to an Anchor before the month of
Charles River neere Cape Feare in the County of Clarendon,
part of the same Province newly begunn to be peopled and within
the L* Genlls Commission. They were after blowne from their
Anchors by a suddaine violent Gust, the Fly boate Sr John was
in narrowly escapeing the dangerous shoales of the Cape. But
this proved but a short difference in their Fate, for returning
with a favorable winde to a second viewe of the entrance into
Charles River but destituted of all pilates (save their owne eyes
(which the flattering Gale that conducted them did alsoe delude
by covering the rough visage of their objected dangers with a
thicke vaile of smoth waters) they stranded their vessell on the
middle ground of the harbours mouth to the Westward of the
Channel! where the Ebbe presently left her and the wind with
its owne multeplyed forces and the auxiliaryes of the tide of
flood beate her to peeces. The persons were all saved by the
neighborhood of the shore but the greatest part of their provision
of victualls clothes, &c : and of the Magazine of Armes powder
and other Military furniture shipped by the Lords Proprietors
for the defence of the designed settlement perished in the waters
the L* Gen11 purposed at first imediately to repaire his Friggatt
(which together with the Sloop gate safely into the River when
the’ Fly boate was driven off) and to send her back to Barbados
for recruity whilst himself in person attended the issue of that
discovery which I and some other Gentlemen offered to make
Southwards in the Sloope, But when the great and growing
necessityes of the English Colony in Charles River (heightened
by this disaster) begann clamorously to crave the use of the
Sloope in a voyage to Virginia for their speedy relief e, Sr John
altered that his first resolution and permitting the sloope to goe
to Virginia returned himself to Barbadoes in his Friggatt. Yett
that the designe of the Southern Settlement might not wholy
fall, Hee considered with the freighters of the sloope that in case
she miscarryed in her Virginia voyage they should hire Captain
Edward Stanyons vessell (then in there harbour but bound for
Barbados) to performe the Discovery and left a commission
with mee for the effecting it upon the returne of the Sloope or
Stanion which should first happen.

The sloope in her comeing home from Virginia loaded with
victualls being ready by reason of her extreme rottenness in her
timbers to Sinke was driven on shoare by a storme in the night
on Cape looke out (the next head land to the north and Eastward

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

of Cape Feare and about 20 Le: distant her men all saved ex-
cept two and with many difficulties brought by their boate
through the great Sound into Albemarle River neare the Island
Roanoke (within this same province of Carolina, to the English
Plantation there —

Captain Stanyon in returning from Barbados weakly maned
and without any second to himselfe driven to and agen on the
seas for many weekes by contrary winds and conquered with
care, vexation and watching lost his reason, and after many
wild extravagances leapt over board in a frenzye, leaveing his
small Company and vessell to the much more quiet and constant
though but little knowing and prudent conduct of a child, who
yett ’assisted by a miraculous providence after many wander-
ings brought her safe to Charles River in Clarendon her de-
sired port and haven. * * *

[Then Sandford gives an account of his voyage along the
coast of southern Carolina, the following extract being of
interest.]

Indeed all along I observed a kind of emulation amongst the
three principall Indians of the Country (vizt:) those of Key-
waha Eddistowe and Port Royall concerning us and our Friend-
shipp each contending to assure it to themselves and jealous of
the other though all be allyed and this notwithstanding that they
knew wee were in actuall warre with the natives att Claren-
don and had killed and sent away many of them For they fre-
quently discoursed with us concerning the warre, told us that
the Natives were noughts, the land sandy and barren, their
Country sickly, but if wee would come amongst them wee should
finde the contrary to all their evills, and never any occasion of
dischargeing our gunns but in merryment and for pastime.
*******

Robt : Sandford.

Massachusetts Sends Some Relief.

(Hutchinson’s History of Massachusetts, page 238.)

In 1667, the people at Cape Fear being under distressing cir-
cumstances, a general contribution by order of court was made
throughout the colony for their relief. Although this was a col-
ony subject to the Proprietary Government of Lord Clarendon
and others, yet the foundation was laid about the time of the
Restoration by adventurers from New England, who supposed

Exploration and Settlement

they had a right to the soil as first occupants and purchasers
from the natives, and, issuing from Massachusetts, to the same
civil privileges; but they were disappointed as to both.

1235117

THE END OE THE SETTLEMENT ON CHARLES
RIVER— THE FIRST CHARLESTOWN.

John Vassall to Sir John Colleton.

(B. P. R. O., Shaftesbury Papers, Bdle. 48, No. 8.)

Nancymond in V irgtnny 6th October 1667.
Honnorable Sir,

I presume you have heard of the unhapy Loss of our Planta-
tion on Charles River the reason of which I could never soe well
have understood had I not com hither to heare; how that all
that came from us made it their business soe to exclaime against
the Country as they had rendered it unfitt for a Christian habi-
tation; which hindered the coming of the people & supplys to
us soe as the rude Rable of our Inhabitants ware dayly redy to
mutany against mee for keeping them there soe long ; insomuch
that after they had found a way to com hither by land all the
arguments and authority I could use wold noe longer prevail
which inforced mee to stop the first ship that came till I could
send for more shipping to carry us all away togeather espetially
such weak persons as ware not able to goe by land the charge
and trouble whereof and the loss of my Estate there having soe
ruened mee as I am not well able to settle myself heare or in any
other place to live comfortably. But had it pleased God to
bring my Cauzen Vassall safe hither wee had bin yett in a
flourishing condition. I sent one Whiticar last November on
purpose at my owne charge to give the Lords an account of our
condition but hee was taken by the way soe as I have not heard
a word from any of you since I receaved my Commissions by
Mr. Sandford and indeed we ware as a poore Company of de-
serted people little regarded by any others and noe way able to
supply ourselves with clothing and necessaries nor any number
considerable to defend ourselves from the Indians all which was
occationed by the hard termes of your Consetions which made
our friends that sett us out from Barbadoes to forsake us, soe
as they would neither suply us with necessaries nor find ship-
ping to fetch us away, yet had wee had but 20 0£ sent us in

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Clothing wee had made a comfortable shift for annother yeare,
and I offered to stay there if but twenty men would stay with
mee till wee had heard from your Lordships, for wee had corne
enough for two yeares for a farr greater number and tho’ the
Indians had killed our Cattle yett wee might have defended our-
selves hut I could not find 6. men that wold be true to me to
stay: soe was constrained to leave it to my greate loss & ruin,
and I fear you will not have a much better account of your
plantation at Roanoke unless a better course be taken to incorage
their stay for they are not without greate cause of complaints.

This with my very humble servis presented is all at present
From Your honnors humble servant

John Vassall

To the Honorable Sir John Coliton
Knight and Barronett at Kerehald
These present
In Essex.

Samuel Mavericke to Sec. Ld Arlington.

(B. P. R. O., Shaftesbury Papers, Vol. XXI, 134.)

The plantations at Cape Feare are deserted, the inhabitants
have since come hither, some to Virginia.

Yor most obliged

humble Servant

Boston Samuell Mavericke

Oct. 16, 1667.

CAPE FEAR PIRATES OF 1719.

There was a wide breadth of wilderness between the settle-
ments in Horth and South Carolina, and before 1725 it was not
determined to which province the Cape Fear River belonged.
About 1692 Landgrave Smith located a grant of 48,000 acres
on that river, and other South Carolina grants were located near
the confluence of its two branches ; hut there was no permanent
settlement made. One Lockwood, from Barhadoes, however,
made a settlement farther to the south, which the Indians de-
stroyed, and hence the name to this day of “Lockwood’s Folly.”
The solitude remained unbroken until in 1719, when Steed
Bonnet, an infamous pirate, established himself within the har-

Exploration and Settlement

bor and made such depredations on the commerce of Charleston
that Colonel Rhett organized an expedition against him. A
notable battle took place near where Southport now stands, end-
ing in the destruction of Bonnet’s vessel and the capture of
many of the pirates. Two days later other pirate vessels were
taken at sea, and more than a hundred pirates were hanged
at one time on the wharves of Charleston. It is supposed that
some of Bonnet’s men escaped and made their way up the river,
eventually amalgamating with a small tribe of Indians on the
Lumber River, where, soon after the permanent settlement of
the Cape Fear, in 1725, a considerable number of English-
speaking people were found.

Permanent Settlement

THE TOWN OF BRUNSWICK.

On the 24th of January, 1712, was commissioned the first
governor of the province of North Carolina, separate and dis-
tinct from the province of South Carolina.

In the year 1711 a horrible massacre of the colonists in Albe-
marle occurred, which was characterized by such fiendish
cruelty on the part of the Indians, led principally by Tusca-
roras, that the colony on the Neuse and Pamlico was blighted
for years and well-nigh destroyed. One hundred and thirty
persons were butchered in two hours under the most appalling
circumstances. Women were laid upon the house floors and
great stakes driven through their bodies; other atrocities were
committed too frightful to think of, and more than eighty un-
baptized infants were dashed to pieces against trees. Although
it appears that there were occasional difficulties with the In-
dians during the early settlements, this seems to have been the
first general uprising in the province. It led to the Tuscarora
War, which would probably have exterminated the white peo-
ple in North Carolina but for the timely and generous assist-
ance of South Carolina, which voted £4,000 sterling, and dis-
patched troops immediately to Albemarle without so much as
asking for security or promise to pay. It is this war which
leads us to the introduction of Col. James Moore, son of Gov.
James Moore, of South Carolina, who came from South Caro-
lina with a second force of troops to the help of our colonists,
and by his active and efficient campaign made short work of the
Tuscaroras and restored peace to our sorely troubled people.

Meanwhile, a third army had come from South Carolina
under Maj. Maurice Moore, a younger brother of Col. James
Moore, who after peace remained in Albemarle. The next year
the people of South Carolina were themselves in danger of ex-
termination because of a most terrible Indian war, and Maj.
Maurice Moore was dispatched with a force to their relief. He
marched along the coast, crossing the Cape Tear near Sugar
Loaf, and was so well pleased with the river lands that he con-
ceived the idea of settling them. The Lords Proprietors, how-
ever, had prohibited the making of any settlement within twenty
[38]

Permanent Settlement

miles of that river, and it was some time before he conld carry
out his plan. Finally, in 1725, he and his kindred and friends
in Albemarle and South Carolina joined in settling the Cape
Fear country. His brother, Roger Moore, came with his hun-
dreds of slaves and built Orton, while Maurice Moore selected a
most admirable site on a bluff near Orton, fifteen miles below
the present city of Wilmington, and laid out a town which he
called Brunswick, in honor of the reigning family. Brunswick
quickly prospered, for a steady stream of population flowed in,
and the trade of the river grew rapidly. In 1731 Dr. Brickell
wrote in his Natural History of North Carolina , “Brunswick
has a great trade, a number of merchants and rich planters.”
At that early period forty-two vessels, carrying valuable
cargoes, sailed from the port in one year.

I have before me the original book of entries and clearances
of His Britannic Majesty’s custom house at the port of Bruns-
wick, in the province of Forth Carolina, beginning with A. D.
1773, in the reign of George III., and running for three years.
It is strongly hound in leather, somewhat injured by abuse for
other purposes during Revolutionary times, but it contains in
fine, legible handwriting, wonderfully well preserved, a record
of over three hundred vessels, with the particulars of their car-
goes and crews. Among the names of the trading vessels, some
of which are remarkable, are the brig Orton , the brig Wilming-
ton, and the schooner Rake's Delight.

Some of the cargoes are significant ; 20 negroes, 50 hogsheads
of rum, 1,000 bags of salt, etc. The outward cargoes to ports
in the provinces, to the West Indies, and to London, Bristol,
and other distant destinations, were mostly lumber, staves, tar,
indigo, rice, corn, wheat, and tobacco.

The full-rigged ship Ulysses , Captain Wilson, brought from
Glasgow, Scotland, October 18, 1773, to Brunswick, furniture,
leather, saddles, earthenware, shoes, linen, hats, gunpowder,
silks, glass, iron, lead, and “shott,” also port wine, rugs, toys,
and household articles.

Other Scotch brigs, notably the Baliol, brought many settlers
to the Cape Fear, most of whom went farther up to Cross Creek,
now Fayetteville. Among these was the distinguished lady,
Flora Macdonald.

There are no available records of trade and commerce per-
taining to Brunswick or to the new settlement at Wilmington.
It appears, however, that many of the plantations established

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sawmills, from which lumber, along with the products of the
farms, was shipped in plantation brigs and schooners to distant
ports. At Orton a large sawmill was run by water power, and
vessels were loaded in the river opposite the mill with lumber,
rice, and indigo.

In its early years Brunswick was in Carteret Precinct, for
when Carteret Precinct, as the counties were formerly called,
was established in 1722, it ran down the coast to the unknown
confines of North Carolina, and back into the wilderness with-
out limitation.

So the settlement at Brunswick, in 1725, was in Carteret,
until New Hanover Precinct was established; and then it was
in New Hanover, which at first embraced the territory now
in Duplin, Sampson, Bladen, and Brunswick Counties. It was
not until shortly before the Devolution that Brunswick was cut
off from New Hanover.

As the Cape Fear region was originally in Carteret Precinct,
some of the early grants and deeds for lands in New Hanover
and Brunswick were registered at Beaufort, the county seat of
Carteret.

A VISIT TO THE CAPE FEAR IN 1734.

(Georgia Historical Papers, Vol. II, page 54.)

I intend after my return to Charleston to take a journey, by
land, to Cape Fear in North Carolina, which I have heard so
much talk of. * * *

I set out from Charleston on the 10th of June, on my
travels to Cape Fear, in North Carolina, in company with thir-
teen more, and the first night reached Mr. More’s, in Goose
Creek. * * *

The next morning, just as we were setting out from thence,
our tired horses came in, when we ordered them to he left there
till further orders ; we left the hoys behind to come after us as
well as they could. We reached Little Charlotta by dinner
time, which is about fifteen miles from Ash’s, or Little River;
we dined there, and in the afternoon crossed the ferry, where
we intended to sleep that night. We reached there about eight
the same night, after having crossed the ferry.

It [Lockwood’s Folly] is so named after one Lockwood, a
Barbadian, who attempted to settle it some time ago ; but, by his
cruel behavior to the Indians, they drove him from thence, and

Permanent Settlement

it has not been settled above ten years. We left Lockwood’s
Folly about eight the next morning, and by two reached the
town of Brunswick, which is the chief town in Cape F ear ; but
with no more than two of the same horses which came with us
out of South Carolina. We dined there that afternoon. Mr.
Roger More hearing we were come, was so kind as to send fresh
horses for us to come up to his house, which we did, and were
kindly received by him; he being the chief gentleman in all
Cape Fear. His house is built of brick, and exceedingly pleas-
antly situated about two miles from the town, and about half
a mile from the river ; though there is a creek comes close up to
the door, between two beautiful meadows, about three miles
length. He has a prospect of the town of Brunswick, and of
another beautiful brick house, a building about half a mile from
him, belonging to Eleazar Allen, Esq., late speaker to the Com-
mons House of Assembly, in the province of South Carolina.
There were several vessels lying about the town of Brunswick,
but I shall forbear giving a description of that place; yet on
the 20th of June we left Mr. Roger More’s, accompanied by his
brother, Nathaniel More, Esq., to a plantation of his, up the
Northwest branch of Cape Fear River. The river is wonder-
fully pleasant, being, next to the Savannah, the finest on all the
continent.

We reached The Forks, as they call it, that same night, where
the river divides into two very beautiful branches, called the
Northeast and the Northwest, passing by several pretty planta-
tions on both sides. We lodged that night at one Mr. Jehu
Davis’, and the next morning, proceeded up the Northwest
branch; when we got about two miles from thence, we came to
a beautiful plantation, belonging to Captain Gabriel, who is a
great merchant there, where were two ships, two sloops, and a
brigantine, loaded with lumber for the West Indies : it is about
twenty-two miles from the bar ; when we came about four miles
higher up, we saw an opening on the northeast side of us, which
is called Black River, on which there is a great deal of good
meadow land, hut there is not any one settled on it.

The next night we came to another plantation belonging to
Mr. Roger More, called the Blue Banks, where he is a-going to
build another very large brick house. This bluff is at least a
hundred feet high, and has a beautiful prospect over a fine large
meadow, on the opposite side of the river; the houses are all
built on the southwest side of the river, it being for the most

4 2 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

part high champaign land: the other side is very much subject
to overflow, hut I cannot learn they have lost hut one crop. I
am credibly informed they have very commonly fourscore bush-
els of corn on an acre of their overflowed land. It very rarely
overflows hut in the wintertime, when their crop is ofl. I must
confess I saw the finest corn growing there that I ever saw in
my life, as likewise wheat and hemp. We lodged there that
night at one Captain Gibbs7, adjoining to Mr. More’s plantation,
where we met with very good entertainment. The next morning
we left his house, and proceeded up the said river to a plantation
belonging to Mr. John Davis, where we dined. The plantations
on this river are very much alike as to the situation ; but there
are many more improvements on some than on others ; this house
is built after the Dutch fashion, and made to front both ways —
on the river, and on the land. He has a beautiful avenue cut
through the woods for above two miles, which is a great addition
to the house. We left his house about two in the afternoon, and
the same evening reached Mr. Nathaniel More’s plantation,
which is reckoned forty miles from Brunswick. It is likewise
a very pleasant place on a blufi upwards of sixty feet high. I
forbore mentioning any thing either as to the goodness or the
badness of the land in my passage from South Carolina, it be-
ing, in short, nothing but a sandy bank from Winneaw ferry to
Brunswick; and, indeed, the town itself is not much better at
present : it is that which has given this place such a bad name on
account of the land, it being the only road to South Carolina
from the northern part of the continent, and as there are a great
many travellers from New York, New England, &c., who go to
Charleston, having been asked what sort of land they have in
Cape Fear, have not stuck out to say that it is all a mere sand
bank ; hut let those gentlemen take a view of the rivers, and they
will soon be convinced to the contrary, as well as myself, who,
must confess, till then was of their opinion, hut now am con-
vinced by ocular demonstration, for I have not so much as seen
one foot of had land since my leaving Brunswick. About three
days after my arrival at Mr. More’s, there came a sloop of one
hundred tons, and upwards, from South Carolina, to be laden
with corn, which is sixty miles at least from the bar. I never
yet heard of any man who was ever at the head of that river, but
they tell me the higher you go up the better the land, and the
river grows wider and wider. There are people settled at least
forty miles higher up, hut indeed the tide does not flow, at the

Permanent Settlement

most, above twenty miles higher. Two days after, I was taken
very ill of an ague and fever, which continued on me for near a
month, in which time my companions left me, and returned to
South Carolina. When I began to recover my health a little,
I mentioned to Mr. More the great desire I had to see Wacca-
maw Lake, as I had heard so much talk of it, and been myself
a great way up the river ; that I was sure by the course of the
country I could not be above twenty miles from thence. He
told me he had a negro fellow, who he thought could carry me
to it, and that he would accompany me himself, with some
others of his acquaintance. On the 18th of July we set out
from his house on horseback, with every one his gun, and took
the negro with us. We rode about four miles on a direct course
through an open pine barren, when we came to a large cane
swamp, about half a mile through, which we crossed in about an
hour’s time, but I was astonished to see the innumerable sight of
musquetoes, and the largest that I ever saw in my life, for they
made nothing to fetch blood of us through our buckskin gloves,
coats, and jackets. As soon as we got through that swamp, we
came to another open pine barren, where we saw a great herd
of deer, the largest and fattest that ever I saw in those parts :
we made shift to kill a brace of them, which we made a hearty
dinner on. We rode about two miles farther, when we came to
another cane swamp, where we shot a large she-bear and two
cubs. It was so large that it was with great difficulty we got
through it. When we got on the other side, it began to rain
very hard, or otherwise, as far as I know, we might have shot
ten brace of deer, for they were almost as thick, as in the parks
in England, and did not seem to be in the least afraid of us, for
I question much whether they had ever seen a man in their
lives before, for they seemed to look on us as amazed. We made
shift as well as we could to reach the lake the same night, but
had but little pleasure ; it continued to rain very hard, we made
a large fire of lightwood, and slept as well as we could that
night. The next morning we took a particular view of it, and
I think it is the pleasantest place that ever I saw in my life.
It is at least eighteen miles round, surrounded with exceedingly
good land, as oak of all sorts, hickory, and fine cypress swamps.
There is an old Indian field to be seen, which shows it was for-
merly inhabited by them, but I believe not within these fifty
years, for there is scarce one of the Cape Fear Indians, or the
Waccamaws, that can give any account of it. There is plenty of

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

deer, wild turkeys, geese, and ducks, and fish in abundance; we
shot sufficient to serve forty men, though there were but six of
us. We went almost round it, but there is on the northeast side
a small cypress swamp, so deep that we could not go through it ;
we returned back again on a direct line, being resolved to find
how far it was on a straight course from the Northwest branch
of Cape Fear River, which we found did not exceed ten miles.

We returned back to Mr. More’s that same night, having
satisfied our curiosity, and the next morning set out with an
intent to take a view of the Northeast branch, on which there is
a great deal of good land, but not in my opinion, for the gen-
erality, so good as on the Northwest, hut I think the river is
much more beautiful. We lay that first night at Newton, in a
small hut, and the next day reached Rocky Point, which is the
finest place in all Cape Fear. There are several very worthy
gentlemen settled there, particularly Col. Maurice More, Cap-
tain Herne, John Swan, Esq., and several others. We stayed
there one night, and the next morning set out on horseback to
take a view of the land backward, imagining that there might
be only a skirt of good land on the river, but I am sure I rode
for about twenty miles back, through nothing but black walnut,
oak, and hickory; we returned the same night to Rocky Point,
and the next morning set out for a plantation belonging to Mr.
John Davis, within six miles of Brunswick, where I was a sec-
ond time taken ill, so that I thought I should have died ; but by
the providence of God, and the care of good Mrs. Davis, I
recovered in a fortnight’s time, so that I was able to set out on
my journey to South Carolina. I took leave of that worthy
family on the 10th of August, when she was so kind as to force
me to take a bottle of shrub, and several other things with me.
I reached Mr. Roger More’s the same night, where I was again
handsomely received, but being resolved to set out on my jour-
ney the next morning, he generously offered me a horse to carry
me to the house where I was obliged to leave mine on the road,
as likewise a servant to attend me, which I refused. I left
his house the next morning, being the 11th of August, at half
an hour after seven, and reached Brunswick by eight. I set
out from thence about nine, and about four miles from thence
met my landlord of Lockwood’s Folly, who was in hopes I

would stay at his house all night.

* * * * * * *

When I was about halfway over the bay, I intended to stop

Permanent Settlement

at the next spring and take a tiff of punch ; but by some unfor-
tunate accident, I know not how, when I came within sight of
the spring, my bottle unluckily broke, and I lost every drop of
my shrub ; but examining my bags, I accidentally found a bottle
of cherry brandy, with some ginger-bread and cheese, which I
believe good Mrs. More ordered to be put up unknown to me. I
drank two drams of that, not being willing it should all be lost
in case it should break, and mounting my horse, took some

ginger-bread and cheese in my hand and pursued my journey.
*******

I reached Witton’s by noon, and had my possum dressed for
dinner. * * * I arrived at Charleston on the 7th [17th]

day of August, where I remained till the 23d of November,
when I set sail for England and arrived safe in London on the
3d of January, 1734-5.

ERECTION OE WILMINGTON— DECAY OF
BRUNSWICK.

In the cove near Governor Try on’s residence, still known as
Governor’s Cove, were anchored in colonial times His Majesty’s
sloops of war Viper, Diligence, Scorpion, and Cruizer ; and the
frigate Rose, a prison ship, was anchored in the stream. This
roadstead proved to be unsafe in stormy weather, and because of
that fact and of the growth of a village fifteen miles farther up
the river called New Liverpool, afterwards Newton, and lastly
Wilmington, which absorbed the trade of the two branches of
the river near that point and prospered, a gradual exodus from
Brunswick began and continued; so that while Wilmington
flourished and became the capital of the province, Brunswick
dwindled and during the Revolutionary War was wholly aban-
doned.

In 1731 John Maultsby took out a warrant for 640 acres of
land opposite the “Thoroughfare,” and John Watson located a
similar warrant adjoining and below that. In 1732 a few enter-
prising men settled on Maultsby’s grant for trade, and called
the place New Liverpool. The next spring Michael Higgins,
Joshua Grainger, James Wimble, and John Watson joined in
laying off a town on Watson’s entry, which they called Newton.

Gov. Gabriel Johnston arrived in November, 1734, and he
at once espoused the cause of Newton as against Brunswick,
the older town. He bought land near Newton and led his

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

friends to do so. Determined to give it importance, lie ordered
that the Council should meet there, and also that the courts
should be held there instead of at Brunswick ; and, indeed, as a
sort of advertisement, he made May 13, 1735, a gala day for
the village. On that day he had the land office opened there,
also the Court of Exchequer to meet there, as well as the New
Hanover Court, and, likewise, the Council. Then he sought to
have the village incorporated under the name of Wilmington.
For a brief time the influence of Brunswick prevailed against
him, but he finally succeeded.

The Act of Incorporation,1 passed in 1739 by the Assembly,
is as follows :

An Act, for erecting the village called Newton, in New Han-
over County, into a town and township, by the name of Wil-
mington; and regulating and ascertaining the hounds thereof.

Section 1. Whereas, several merchants, tradesmen, artifi-
cers, and other persons of good substance, have settled them-
selves at a village called Newton lying on the east branch of
Cape Fear; and whereas, the said village by reason of its con-
venient situation at the meeting of the two great branches of
Cape Fear Biver, and likewise, by reason of the depth of water,
capable of receiving vessels of considerable burthen, safety of its
roads beyond any other part of the river, and the secure and
easy access from all parts of the different branches of the said
river, is, upon all those and many other accounts, more proper
for being erected into a town or township, than any other part
of the said river.

Sec. 2. Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency Gabriel
Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the advice and consent
of His Majesty’s Council and General Assembly of this prov-
ince, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, that
the village heretofore called Newton, lying on the east side of
the northeast branch of Cape Fear Biver, in New Hanover
County, shall, from and after the passage of this Act, he a
town and township, and the said village is hereby established
a town and township by the name of Wilmington, the hounds
whereof shall he and are circumscribed in manner following:
That is to say, to the northeast, by the lands of His Excellency
Gabriel Johnston, Esq.; upwards and below, by the lands of
Michael Dyer ; to the westward by the northeast branch of Cape
Fear Biver; and to the eastward, by a line drawn between the

lSwann’s Collection Public Acts, North Carolina, 1739, Chapter IV.
p. 99.

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PLAN of the Town of WlLLMINGTON
in New Hanover County

North Carolina

Reference

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Permanent Settlement

said lands of His Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., and
Michael Dyer, one hundred and twenty poles distant from the
river.

Sec. 3. And he it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that forever, after passing of this Act, the inhabitants of
and near the said town, qualified as hereinafter mentioned,
shall have the privilege of choosing one Representative for the
said town, to sit and vote in General Assembly.

Sec. 4. And for ascertaining the method of choosing the
said Representative, be it further enacted, by the authority
aforesaid, that every tenant of any brick, stone, or framed in-
habitable house, of the length of twenty feet, and sixteen feet
wide, within the bounds of the said town, who, at the day of
election, and for three months next before, inhabited such house,
shall be entitled to vote in the election for the Representative
of the said town, to be sent to the General Assembly ; and in case
there shall be no tenant of such house in the said town on the
day of election, qualified to vote as aforesaid, that then, and in
such case, the person seized of such house, either in fee-simple,
or fee-tail, or for term of life, shall be entitled to vote for the
Representative aforesaid.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that every person who, on the day of election, and for three
months next before, shall be in actual possession or an inhabi-
tant of a brick house, of the length of thirty feet, and sixteen
feet wide, between the bounds of the said town upwards, and
Smith’s Creek, and within one hundred and twenty poles of the
Northeast branch of Cape Eear River, shall be entitled to, and
have a vote in the election of a Representative for the said town
(unless such person be a servant), and shall, as long as he con-
tinues an inhabitant of such house, within the said bounds,
enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities, to which any
inhabitant within the said town shall be entitled, by virtue of
said Act.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that no person shall be deemed qualified to be a Repre-
sentative for the said town, to sit in the General Assembly, un-
less, on the day of election, he be, and for three months next
before, was seized, in fee-simple, or for the term of life, of a
brick, stone, or framed house of the dimensions aforesaid, with
one or more brick chimney or chimnies.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that forever, after the passing of this Act, the Court of

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the County of New Hanover, and the election of the Represent-
atives to be sent to the General Assembly, and the election of
Vestrymen, and all other public elections, of what kind or
nature soever, for the said county and town, shall be held and
made in the town of Wilmington, and at no other place whatso-
ever, any law, statute, usage, or custom, to the contrary, not-
withstanding.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that from and after the passing of this Act, the Collector
and Naval Officers of the port of Brunswick (of which port the
said town of Wilmington is the most central and convenient
place, both for exportation and importation, by reason of its
navigation and situation), shall constantly reside in the said
town, and there keep their respective offices, until His Majesty
shall be pleased to give his directions to the contrary. And
likewise, the Clerk of the Court of the County of New Hanover,
and the Register of the said county, shall constantly hold and
execute their respective offices in the said town of Wilmington;
and that if either of the said officers neglect or refuse so to do,
he so neglecting or refusing, shall, for every month he shall be a
delinquent, forfeit and pay the sum of five pounds proclamation
money; to be sued for and recovered, by him who shall sue for
the same, in the general court of this province, or in the County
Court of New Hanover, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or infor-
mation, wherein no essoin, protection, injunction, or wager of
law shall be allowed, and one-half of such forfeiture shall be
for the use of the person who sues for the same, and the other
half shall be paid to the commissioners, for the time being,
appointed for regulating the said town.

Sec. 9. And for the due regulating the said town, be it fur-
ther enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that Robert Hal ton,
James Murray, Samuel Woodard, William Farris, Richard
Eagles, John Porter and Robert Walker, Esquires, are hereby
established and appointed commissioners for the said town ; and
the said commissioners, or a majority of them, and their suc-
cessors shall have, and be invested with all powers and authori-
ties within the bounds of the said town of Wilmington, in as full
and ample manner as the commissioners for the town of Edenton
have or possess, by virtue of any law heretofore passed.

Sec. 10. And whereas the justices of the County Court of
New Hanover, at the court held at Brunswick, on Tuesday the
eleventh day of December last, have imposed a tax of five shil-

Permanent Settlement

lings per poll, to be levied on the tithable inhabitants of the said
county, between the first day of January and the first day of
March, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine ; and after-
wards, one other tax of five shillings per poll, to be levied on the
said inhabitants, between the first day of January and the first
day of March, one thousand seven hundred and forty, towards
building a courthouse and gaol in the town of Brunswick, for
the said county.

Sec. 11. Be it enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that the
justices of the said County Court shall, and are hereby directed
to apply the said levy or tax towards finishing and completing
the courthouse already erected in the said town of Wilmington,
and towards building a gaol in the said town.

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore-
said, that if any one or more of the said commissioners shall
die, or remove out of the county, that then and in such case, the
surviving or remaining commissioners shall, within six months
after the death or removal of such commissioner, present to His
Excellency the Governor, or Commander-in-Chief for the time
being, three persons, one of which the said Governor or Com-
mander-in-Chief is hereby empowered to nominate and appoint;
and the commissioners so appointed shall be invested with the
same powers and authorities as any commissioner nominated by

this Act. T -n ssi

Gabriel Johnston, Esq., (Governor.

William Smith, President.

John Hodgson, Speaker.

THE SPANISH INVASION, 1147.

On November 20, 1740, a considerable force, enlisted on the
Cape Fear, left Wilmington under the command of Capt. James
Innes to fight the Spaniards at Cartagena; they were carried
off hy disease and but few returned. The next year the Span-
iards in retaliation seized Ocracoke Inlet and committed tre-
mendous depredations. And again, in 1744, they scoured the
coast. Three years later, they made another foray. In July,
1747, they entered the Cape Eear, but the militia were prompt
in meeting them, and held them in check, taking some prisoners.
From there they went north, entered Beaufort Harbor, and, on
August 26, after several days’ fighting, gained possession of the
town. Emboldened by this victory, they returned to the Cape
4

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Fear, and, on September 4, 1747, began to ascend the river.
Hew Hanover County then included what has since become
Brunswick, and the people from Duplin to Lockwood’s Folly
sprang to their horses and hurried to Brunswick. Eleazar
Allen, Roger Moore, Edward Moseley, and William Forbes
were appointed commissioners to take measures for defense;
while Maj. John Swann was invested with the immediate com-
mand of the troops. The companies of Capt. William Dry,
Capt. John Ashe, and Capt. John Sampson, from the upper
part of the county, alone numbered 300 men; so the defenders
doubtless were about a thousand. On the 6th, the Spaniards
possessed themselves of Brunswick, and for four days the battle
raged. At length, on September 10, one of the Spanish vessels
was blown up and the others were driven off. All that day
Colonel Dry was burying dead Spaniards, for a considerable
number of them perished, and twenty-nine were taken alive. It
was from the destroyed vessel that the painting in the vestry
room of St. James’s Church in Wilmington, “Ecce Homo,” was
taken. The spoils from the wreck were appropriated for the
use of the churches in Brunswick and Wilmington.

Because of these incursions, a fort was built the next year to
guard the river — Fort Johnston. It was garrisoned by com-
panies raised in the vicinity, and some of the young officers
trained to arms there afterwards became distinguished in the
French and Indian War and in the Revolution, among them
Gen. J ames Moore and Gen. Robert Howe.

The War of Jenkins’ Ear.

Catherine Albertson, in her very interesting book entitled
In Ancient Albemarle , says, with reference to this interesting
episode :

The real cause of this war in 1740 was the constant violation
on the part of the English of the commercial laws which Spain
had made to exclude foreign nations from the trade of her
American colonies. But the event which precipitated matters
and gave to the conflict which followed the name of aThe War
of Jenkins’ Ear” was as follows:

The Spaniards captured an English merchant vessel, whose
master they accused of violating the trade laws of Spain. In
order to wring a confession from the master, Captain Jenkins,
his captors hung him up to a yardarm of his ship until he was
nearly dead, and then let him down, thinking he would confess.

Permanent Settlement

But on his stoutly denying that he had been engaged in any
nefarious dealings, and since no proof could be found against
him, the captain of the Spanish ship cut off one of the English
captain’s ears, and insolently told him to show it to his country-
men as a warning of what Englishmen might expect who were
caught trading with Spain’s colonies in America.

Captain Jenkins put the ear in his pocket, sailed home as
fast as wind and wave would carry him, and was taken straight
to the Houses of Parliament with his story. Such was the in-
dignation of both Lords and Commons at this insult to one of
their nation, and so loud was the clamor for vengeance, that
even Walpole, who for years had managed to hold the English
dogs of war in leash, was now compelled to yield to the will of
the people, and Parliament declared war on Spain.

Immediately upon this declaration, King George called upon
his atrusty and well-beloved subjects in Carolina” and the other
twelve colonies, to raise troops to help the mother country in
her struggle with arrogant Spain. Carolina responded nobly to
the call for troops, as the following extract from a letter from
Gov. Gabriel Johnston to the Duke of Newcastle will testify:
“I can now assure Your Grace that we have raised 400 men
in this province who are just going to put to sea. In those
northern parts of the colony adjoining to Virginia, we have got
100 men each, though some few deserted since they began to
send them on hoard the transports at Cape Fear. I have good
reason to believe we could have raised 200 more if it had been
possible to negotiate the bills of exchange in this part of the con-
tinent ; hut as that was impossible we were obliged to rest satis-
fied with four companies. I must, in justice to the Assembly of
the province, inform Your Grace that they were very zealous and
unanimous in promoting this service. They have raised a sub-
sidy of 1,200 pounds, as it is reckoned hereby, on which the
men have subsisted ever since August, and all the transports
are victualed.”

No record has been kept of the names of the privates who
enlisted from Carolina in this war. Nor do we know how many
of those who at the King’s call left home and country to fight
in a foreign land ever returned to their native shores; but we
do know that these Carolina troops took part in the disastrous
engagements of Cartagena and Boca-Chica; and that King
George’s troops saw fulfilled Walpole’s prophecy, made at the
time of the rejoicing over the news that Parliament had de-

Chronicles of the Cape . Fear River

dared war on Spain: “You are ringing the joy bells now,”

said the great prime minister, “but before this war is over yon
will all be wringing your hands.”

After the two crushing defeats of Cartagena and Boca-Chica,
the troops from the colonies who still survived embarked upon
their ships to return home ; hut while homeward bound a malig-
nant fever broke out among the soldiers, which destroyed nine
out of every ten men on the ships. But few of those from
Carolina lived to see their native home again. That they bore
themselves bravely on the field of battle, none who know the
war record of North Carolina will dare deny, though, as re-
gards her private soldiers in this war, history is silent.

One of the officers from Carolina, Captain Innes, of Wil-
mington, made such a record for gallantry during the two en-
gagements mentioned, that in the Trench and Indian War, in
which fourteen years later not only the Thirteen Colonies, hut
most of the countries of Europe as well, were embroiled, he was
made commander-in-chief of all the American forces [in Vir-
ginia], George Washington himself gladly serving under this
distinguished Carolinian.

THE SITE OF FORT JOHNSTON.

(Extracts from an address delivered by Dr. J. G. DeRouJhac Hamilton, alumnus
professor of history, University of North Carolina, before the North
Carolina Society of Colonial Dames at Southport, N. C.)

Fort Johnston dates from the War of the Austrian Succes-
sion, or, as it was known in the colonies, King George’s War.
In this contest, in which the mother country was engaged with
both France and Spain, many of the colonies took an active
part. The Southern colonies were all in an exposed condition
and seemed in imminent danger of attack, particularly from
Spain. Then it was, in 1745, that the Assembly of North
Carolina, after reciting that

“Whereas, from the present War with France and Spain,
There is great Reason to fear that such Parts of this Province
which are situated most commodious for Shipping to enter may
he invaded by the Enemy; and whereas, The Entrance of Cape
Fear River, from its known depth of water and other Conven-
iences for Navigation, may tempt them to such an enterprise,
while it remains in so naked and defenceless a Condition as it
now is, * * * for the better securing of the Inhabitants

Permanent Settlement

of the River from Insult and Invasion,” appointed a board of
commissioners, consisting of Gov. Gabriel Johnston, for whom
the fort was to be named, Nathaniel Rice, Robert Halton, Elea-
zar Allen, Matthew Rowan, Edward Moseley, Roger Moore,
William Forbes, James Innes, William Farris, John Swann
and George Moore, who were charged with the duty of erecting
a fort large enough to contain twenty cannon, and provided for
the payment of the expenses of construction by appropriating
therefor the powder money exacted from vessels entering the
port. In 1748 two thousand pounds were appropriated for the
work, and at various times later the amount was increased. The
fort was completed in 1764, by William Fry, and very poorly
built it was, too, for the tapia, or “tabby work,” as it was called,
contained such a large proportion of sand that every time a gun
was fired part of the parapet fell down. Governor Tryon said
that it was a disgrace to the ordnance in it, but he described its
situation as admirable in every respect, and Josiah Quincy, who
visited it in 1773, said it was delightful.

The first commander of the fort was Capt. John Dalrymple.
Of this officer, the least said, the better. General Braddock, in
order to get rid of him, gave him the appointment and sent him
to Governor Dobbs. This is not an unfair example of the
English method of making colonial appointments at that time.
Dalrymple went to England, and upon his return was arrested
by Governor Dobbs and thrown into prison, but upon appeal to
the Board of Trade, he was restored to command and held it
until his death at the fort in 1766. Governor Tryon at once
recommended Robert Howe for the vacancy and placed him in
command, but Abraham Collett received the commission and
under Governor Martin took command of the fort. The position
was retained by him until the downfall of the royal government.

Twice before 1776 was the wisdom of the colonial leaders in
not strengthening the fort justified. When those patriots of the
Cape Fear, under the lead of Harnett, Ashe, and Waddell,
defied the Governor and the armed power of England and
thereby prevented the execution of the Stamp Act, placing
themselves high in our roll of honor, Governor Tryon had the
mortification of seeing the guns of the fort spiked by Captain
Dalrymple, lest they be turned by Waddell and his force against
the English war vessels that lay in the harbor. The garrison
of the fort, consisting of Captain Dalrymple and two men, then
took refuge elsewhere.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

In July, 1775, Governor Martin, considering that only about
a dozen men composed the garrison, decided that the best policy
was to dismount the cannon and place them under the protection
of the guns of the Cruizer then lying at anchor in the harbor.
He wrote Halifax :

“Fort Johnston, my lord, is a most contemptible thing, fit
neither for a place of arms nor an asylum for the friends of the
government. On account of the weakness and smallness of it,
it is of little consequence, and the King’s artillery, which is all
that is good about it, will he as well secured under cover of the
Cruizer s guns, at less charge, as upon the walls of that little
wretched place.”

The general correctness of this statement is one of the most
fortunate circumstances of Forth Carolina Revolutionary his-
tory.

The Wilmington Committee of Safety, already influenced by
the deep anger of the people against Captain Collett, whose
conduct even Governor Martin considered indefensible, had, in
the meantime, decided upon the capture of the fort, and on
July 18, the Governor received from John Ashe a notice,
signed “The People,” which announced the intention of the
committee to take possession. That night he took refuge on
the Cruizer , and the patriots, occupying the fort, set fire to the
buildings, and the next day what remained of them was de-
stroyed. With this departure of Martin, royal government in
Forth Carolina ceased. One of the purest and most gifted
sons of the Cape F ear has said of this :

“Thus nobly upon the Cape Fear closed the first act of the
drama. And when the curtain rose again George by the grace
of God, King, was King no longer ; hut the Constitution reigned,
and the free people of Forth Carolina governed themselves.”

After the capture of the fort, it was occupied by patriot troops
under Robert Howe. Later in the war, five British regiments
encamped on the site, hut it played no important part during
the Revolution, and the remainder of its history can be briefly
told. At the close of the Revolution, the only people living near
the fort were a few pilots. The healthfulness of the situation,
however, interested a number of residents of Wilmington, and
steps were taken for laying off a town. One, situated on the
lands of Maj. John Walker, was incorporated, but disappeared
simultaneously with its incorporation. But in 1792, an act of
the Assembly set up the town of Smithville, naming it in honor

Permanent Settlement

of that patriot and philanthropist, Benjamin Smith, who after-
wards became governor of North Carolina. And Smithville it
remained, a good North Carolina name, preserving in onr
nomenclature the memory of that public benefactor, until a few
years since, when this monument of the past was destroyed and
the name of Southport substituted. I trust that I may live to
see the day when Smithville shall be restored to North Carolina.

The site of the fort remained the property of North Carolina
until 1794, when it was ceded to the United States on condition
that a fort should be erected there. The condition was not ful-
filled until 1809. Then the Legislature receded the site to the
United States.

In 1825 the construction of Uort Caswell was begun, and
after its completion Fort Johnston was of less importance. In
1836 the garrison was withdrawn.

Its importance during the War between the States was ob-
scured by the glory of its neighbor, Fort Fisher, and since the
war Fort Johnston has been entirely abandoned for Fort Cas-
well.

It remains, then, a relic of the past. It was the scene of a.
calm and brave defiance, fiung in the teeth of England’s power,,
and it is well to mark the spot and at the same time to dedicate
here a monument which shall forever commemorate the valor
and patriotism of the men of the Cape Fear.

COLONIAL PLANTATIONS ON THE CAPE FEAR.

In his admirable History of New Hanover County , a labor
of love for which the accomplished author never received the
smallest compensation, the late Col. Alfred Moore Waddell
describes sixty-six prominent plantations and their proprietors
on the Lower Cape Fear in colonial times. Of the manner of life
of these planters, he says in A Colonial Officer and His Times:

“In the southern end of the province, at Brunswick and
Wilmington, and along the Cape Fear, there were an equally
refined and cultivated society and some very remarkable men.
No better society existed in America, and it is but simple truth
to say that for classical learning, wit, oratory, and varied accom-
plishments, no generation of their successors has equaled them.

“Their hospitality was boundless and proverbial, and of the
manner in which it was enjoyed there can he no counterpart in

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the present age. Some of them had town residences, but most
of them lived on their plantations, and they were not the thrift-
less characters that by some means it became fashionable to
assume all Southern planters were. There was much gaiety and
festivity among them, and some of them rode hard to hounds,
but as a general rule they looked after their estates, and kept
themselves as well informed in regard to what was going on
in the world as the limited means of communication allowed.
There was little display, but in almost every house could be
found valuable plate, and, in some, excellent libraries. The
usual mode of travel was on horseback, and in ‘gigs/ or ‘chairs/
which were vehicles without springs but hung on heavy straps,
and to which one horse, and sometimes by young beaux, two
horses, tandem, were driven; a mounted servant rode behind,
or, if the gig was occupied by ladies, beside the horse. The
family coach was mounted by three steps, and had great carved
leather springs, with baggage rack behind, and a high, narrow
driver’s seat and box in front. The gentlemen wore clubbed
and powdered queues and knee-breeches, with buckled low-
quartered shoes, and many carried gold or silver snuffboxes
which, being first tapped, were handed with grave courtesy to
their acquaintances when passing the compliments of the day.
There are persons still living who remember seeing these things
in their early youth. The writer of these lines himself remem-
bers seeing in his childhood the decaying remains of old ‘chairs/
and family coaches, and knew at that time several old negroes
who had been body servants in their youth to the proprietors of
these ancient vehicles. It is no wonder they sometimes drove
the coaches four-in-hand. It was not only grand style, but the
weight of the vehicle and the character of the roads made it
necessary.

“During the period embraced in these pages, four-wheeled
pleasure vehicles were rare, and even two-wheeled ones were not
common, except among the town nabobs and well-to-do planters.
The coaches, or chariots, as a certain class of vehicles was called,
were all imported from England, and the possession of such a
means of locomotion was evidence of high social position. It
was less than twenty years before the period named, that the
first stage wagon in the colonies, in 1738, was run from Trenton
to Hew Brunswick, in Hew Jersey, twice a week, and the ad-
vertisement of it assured the public that it would be fitted up
with benches and covered over ‘so that passengers may sit easy
and dry.’ ”

Permanent Settlement

Some of the prominent Lower Cape Lear men of colonial and
Revolutionary days were, Governor Burrington, of Governor’s
Point; Gen. Robert Howe, of Howe’s Point; Nathaniel Moore,
of York; Gov. Arthur Dobbs, of Russellboro — all below Orton.
“King” Roger Moore, of Orton; James Smith, of Kendal;
Eleazar Allen, of Lilliput; John Moore, of Pleasant Oaks;
Nathaniel Rice, of Old Town Creek; John Baptista Ashe, of
Spring Garden, afterwards called Grovely ; Chief J ustice Hasell,
of Belgrange ; Schencking Moore, of Hullfields ; J ohn Davis, of
Davis Plantation; John Dalrymple (who commanded Port
Johnston), of Dalrymple Place; John Ancrum, of Old Town;
Marsden Campbell, of Clarendon ; Richard Eagles, of The
Forks; Judge Alfred Moore, of Buchoi; John Waddell, of Bel-
ville; Gov. Benjamin Smith, of Belvidere. These were all
below Wilmington. Many others equally important resided
on their plantations above Wilmington. All are recorded in
Colonel Waddell’s History of New Hanover County, but these
are mentioned here in support of the statement that the Cape
Fear planters of olden time were men of mark.

COLONIAL ORTON.

Many of the old homesteads described by Colonel Waddell
have fallen into decay and some of the residences have entirely
disappeared, but Orton, on the lower Cape Fear River, still
stands as it did in colonial days, when it was the home of
“King” Roger Moore, of Gov. Benjamin Smith, of Richard
Quince, and in later years of Dr. Fred J. Hill and Col. Ken-
neth McKenzie Murchison.

It is a majestic domain of more than ten thousand acres, and
the house is still regarded by competent critics as one of the
finest examples of pure colonial architecture in America.

The lordly residence of Chief Justice Eleazar Allen, upon
the adjacent plantation of Lilliput, which was distinguished in
his day for a large and liberal hospitality, has long since dis-
appeared, but the grand old oaks which lifted their majestic
branches to the soft south breezes in colonial times still sing
their murmured requiem above a “boundless contiguity of
shade.”

Here, upon the banks of our historic river, which stretches
two miles to the eastern shore, is heard the booming of the broad
Atlantic as it sweeps in its might and majesty from Greenland

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to us there. The primeval forest with its dense undergrowth of
dogwood blossoms, which shine with the brightness of the falling
snow; the thickets of Cherokee roses, which surpass the most
beautiful of other regions; the brilliant carpet of wild azaleas,
the golden splendor of the yellow jessamine, the modest Prosera ,
the marvelous Dioncea muscipula, and the trumpet Sarracenia;
the river drive to the white beach, from which are seen the dis-
tant breakers ; the secluded spot in the wilderness commanding
a wide view of an exquisite landscape, where, safe from intru-
sion, we sat upon a sheltered seat beneath the giant pines and
heard the faint “Yo ho” of the sailor, outward bound; a place
apart for holy contemplation when the day is far spent, where
the overhanging branches cast the shadow of a cross, and where,
later, through the interlacing foliage, the star of hope is shining ;
the joyful reception at the big house, the spacious hall with its
ample hearth and blazing oak logs ; around it, after the bounti-
ful evening meal, the old songs sung and the old tales told, and
fun and frolic to keep dull care beyond the threshold.

Through the quiet lanes of Orton to the ruins of Governor
Try on’s palace is half a mile. Here is the cradle of American
independence; for upon this spot, until recently hidden by a
dense undergrowth of timber, occurred, between six and seven
o’clock on the evening of the 19th of February, 1766, the first
open resistance to the British Stamp Act in the American colo-
nies, by 450 armed men, who surrounded the palace and de-
manded the surrender of the custodian of the obnoxious symbols
of the King’s authority.

Ten minutes’ walk farther down brings us to the ruins of the
colonial church of St. Philip, the scene of many notable inci-
dents and the resting place of early pioneers. It was built
by the citizens of Brunswick, and, principally, by the landed
gentry, about 1740. In 1751, Mr. Lewis Henry DeBosset, a
member of Gov. Gabriel Johnston’s council, and subsequently
an expatriated Loyalist, introduced a bill appropriating to St.
Philip’s Church at Brunswick and to St. James’s Church at
Wilmington, equally, a fund that was realized by the capture
and destruction of a pirate vessel, which, in a squadron of
Spanish buccaneers, had entered the river and plundered the
plantations.

The walls of St. Philip’s Church are nearly three feet thick,
and are solid and almost intact still, while the roof and floor
have disappeared. It must have possessed much architectural

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

beauty and massive grandeur, with its high-pitched roof, its
lofty doors, and its beautiful chancel windows.

A little to the west, surrounded by a forest of pines, lies
Liberty Pond, a beautiful lake of clear spring water, once
stained with the blood of friend and foe in a deadly conflict —
hence its traditional name. It is now a most restful, tranquil
spot, with its profound stillness, the beach of snow white sand,
the unbroken surface of the lake reflecting the foliage and the
changing sky-line.

Turning to the southeast, we leave the woodland and reach a
blufl upon the river bank, still known as Howe’s Point, where
the Revolutionary patriot and soldier, Gen. Robert Howe, was
born and reared. His residence, long since a ruin, was a large
frame building on a stone or brick foundation, still remembered
as such by several aged citizens of Brunswick.

A short distance from the Howe place, the writer found some
years ago, in the woods and upon a commanding site near the
river, under many layers of pine straw, the clearly defined ruins
of an ancient fort, which was undoubtedly of colonial origin.
Mr. Reynolds, who lived at his place near by, said that his great
grandfather informed him forty years ago that long before the
War of the Revolution this fort was erected by the colonial gov-
ernment for the protection of the colonists against buccaneers.

Hence to the staid old county seat is a journey of an hour; it
was originally known as Port Johnston. The adjacent hamlet
was subsequently called Smithville. In the old courthouse,
which is its principal building, may be seen the evidence that
on the death, January 17, 1749, of Mr. Allen, aged 57 years,
the plantation Lilliput, where he was buried, became the prop-
erty (and, it is said, the residence for a brief period) of the
great grandson of Oliver Cromwell, Sir Thomas Prankland,
commanding the frigate Rose , who was subsequently Admiral
of the White in the British Havy.

In connection with the inscription on Chief Justice Allen’s
tomb — that he died in January, 1749 — it is to be noted that in
December, 1749, he was acting as chief justice. At that period
the calendar year began and ended in March, so that January,
1749, followed December of that year. The alteration in the
calendar was made by act of Parliament in 1751.

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ORTON.

A stately mansion girt by God’s great woods,

Each clod of earth a friend to me and mine.

Each room a home within the one vast home,

Where naught of all its perfect pomp

Can mar the sweet simplicity and ease of entertainment.

There dwells the warmth of generous hospitality
That counts no act a favor and no gift a sacrifice.

There sordid things and anxious cares come not.

No strangers’ words or presence there intrude.

There love of life — clean, wholesome, healthful life — prevails.
And there the peace of God pervades
Each hour of perfect day and night.

One day within its woods,

One night beneath its roof,

To tired body gives a newborn vigor,

To wearied mind a keen creative power,

To the soul a sense of clean, sweet peace,

And to the hour of regretful leaving
A loving and lasting benediction.

Rev. Richard W. Hogue.

CRANE NECK HERON COLONY ON ORTON
PLANTATION.

By Rosa Pendleton Chiles.

Stretching for miles through the vast domain of Orton Planta-
tion is a great pond, and in an elected spot above its still waters
nests the only colony of egrets remaining in North Carolina
today.

For centuries the heron has made its home in the primeval
solitude of saltmarsh, untrodden swamp, or silent waters of
some hidden pond, where the cypress springs like a sentinel
from the deep and spreads its limbs for nesting ground. Bold
must he the hunter, though tempted by the glimmer of gold, who,
braving mosquitoes and reptiles, threads his way over the track-
less morass, paddles his boat along the tortuous meanderings of
the smaller water courses, or plunges through the dense growth
fringing their banks, following the heron to its nest in pine or
cypress. Yet we know only too well some who are fearless
enough to make the effort, and the story of their success is writ-
ten in the tragedy of millions of bird lives and the deeper
tragedy of some human lives. Notwithstanding the caution of
this noble bird in seeking a home in the well-nigh impenetrable

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

waste of marsh or cypress-grown water, it has escaped extermi-
nation only through the aid of its human friends.

There are twenty heron colonies along the Atlantic coast, but
only three are protected by individuals; the rest are cared for
by the National Association of Audubon Societies. One of these
is the Crane Neck colony, belonging to Mr. James Sprunt, the
present owner of Orton Plantation, and wholly preserved by
him. He who notes the sparrow’s fall put into the heart of
Mr. Sprunt a great love for wild creatures, and it is a joy and
satisfaction to him to afford the heron wise enough to seek
refuge at Crane Neck complete protection from the mercenary
and merciless plume-hunter. Here the snowy egret, American
egret, great blue, little blue, black-crowned night, Louisiana,
and green herons nest and chatter of the brooding time in as
great security as others of their kind, peopling, perchance, the
same pond, and mingling their familiar “quock, quock” with
the rippling waters as the first ship sailed up the Cape Pear,
enjoyed more than two hundred and fifty years ago. No doubt
the adventurous explorers, Hilton, Fabian, and Long, witnessed,
as those fortunate enough today may witness, the heron flight
high in the rare air of the purpling dawn, woven into its ravish-
ing cloud-films and vanishing with them.

“They near, they pass, set sharp against the sky;

Grotesques some Orient artist might have drawn
Blue on a golden dawn;

They pass, are gone like leaves blown cloud-high, —

And oh, my heart is mad to follow where they fly!”

Such may have been the sentiment of the early adventurous
spirit, dreaming of conquest; such seems now the sentiment of
certain heirs of that conquest, dreaming of greed. But the
heron of Crane Neck flies in peace.

This colony was brought to the attention of the ornithological
world in 1898 by Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, secretary of the
National Association of Audubon Societies, himself a North
Carolinian, and the association, of which Mr. Sprunt is a mem-
ber, feels unusual satisfaction in the preservation by its owner
of this single egret colony in the State. According to the report
of Mr. Pearson at this time, “the colony contains probably 800
pairs of little blue herons, about the same number of Louisiana
herons, 125 pairs of great blue herons, 40 pairs of American
egrets, 25 pairs of snowy egrets, and probably 20 pairs of black-

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crowned night herons, also a few green herons, and now and
then a few anhingas.”

The curator of the State Museum, Mr. H. H. Brimley, visited
the colony in 1913, and reported a somewhat smaller number
than Mr. Pearson now estimates, but both have stated that the
colony holds its own. Mr. Brimley makes the encouraging state-
ment that “the American egrets have increased in number dur-
ing the past few years, and that the snowy egrets have at least
held their own/’ and adds, “No evidence of any kind was noted
of the plume herons having been ‘shot up.’ ” Concluding, Mr.
Brimley says : “The pride taken in this interesting heron colony
by its owner, Mr. James Sprunt, of Wilmington, and his inter-
est in the conservation of all wild life, is responsible for its
immunity from being ‘shot up.’ It is widely known, locally,
and the means of reaching it are known even to some of the old-
time plume-hunters, and to the efforts of Mr. Sprunt in pre-
serving these birds all praise is due.” The feeling expressed
by Mr. Brimley is the feeling entertained by all bird-lovers, who
rejoice that the heron has this safe retreat.

PLANTATIONS ON THE NORTHEAST RIVER.

By Dr. John Hampden Hill.

About forty-one years ago Dr. John Hampden Hill,i a promi-
nent Cape Fear planter of Lilliput, a gentleman of culture and
refinement, generally respected and admired, wrote some inter-
esting reminiscences of the Lower Cape Fear, and for personal
reasons instructed his friend, Mr. DuBrutz Cutlar, to reserve
them from publication until after the author’s death. Upon my
earnest solicitation, however, he permitted me to copy these
papers in the year 1892 and to use them in a series of news-
paper articles entitled A Colonial Plantation. I reproduce them
here as worthy of more permanent record.

After this section began to be visited, and settlements made
by emigrants from Europe and from the other provinces,
amongst the earliest places that attracted attention was Stag
Park. It was first located and patented by George Burrington,
then governor of the province of North Carolina. This Gov-
ernor Burrington was a very worthless and profligate character,
so much so, that on one occasion being at Edenton, he was pre-

!Dr. Hill was born April 28, 1807, at Hyrneham, and died February
19, 1893, at Goldsboro, full of years and the consolations of an honorable
Christian life.

64 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sented by the grand jury of Chowan County for riotous and dis-
orderly conduct on the streets, with a party of rowdy compan-
ions. Of such material as this did our English rulers make
governors for the guardianship of the lives and fortunes of their
loyal subjects in these provinces.

Burrington returned to England, and there contracted a debt
•to a Mr. Strudwick, for which he mortgaged the Stag Park
estate of ten thousand acres, and a large body of land which he
owned in what was known as The Hawfields, in Orange County.
Mr. Strudwick sent his son, Edmund, to look after his property,
thus acquired in this country.

The tradition was that this gentleman had fallen into dis-
favor with his friends on account of having married an actress
in the city of London, which was the cause of his coming to set-
tle in America. His residence was divided between Stag Park
and The Hawfields. He left a son whom the writer has only
heard mentioned as Major Strudwick and as quite an influential
citizen of Orange County, where he chiefly resided. He married
a Miss Shepperd, of Orange, by which marriage there were
several sons and daughters, of whom the late Mr. Samuel Strud-
wick, of Alabama, was the eldest. This gentleman was a suc-
cessful planter and acquired a large estate, He was of high
intelligence, and remarkable for his fine conversational talent.

Dr. Edmund Strudwick, of Hillsboro, is well known as one
of the ablest physicians of the State, and is especially eminent
as a surgeon. Betsy, the eldest daughter, married Mr. Paoli
Ashe, and was the mother of the Hon. Thomas S. Ashe, one of
the associate justices of the Supreme Court of North Carolina,
and a gentleman distinguished alike for professional ability and
great worth and purity of character.

Stag Park was sold about the year 1817 for division among
the heirs, and was purchased by Ezekiel Lane, Esq., for $10,000.
This gentleman we will have occasion to mention further on.

The next place, descending the Northeast, is The Neck, the
residence of Gov. Samuel Ashe, who, together with his brother,
Gen. John Ashe, was amongst the most prominent and influen-
tial characters in the Cape Eear region, both before and after
the Revolutionary War. Governor Ashe held with distinction
the office of judge up to the time he was elected governor. His
eldest son, John Baptista Ashe, was also elected governor, but
died before he could be inducted into office. There were two
other sons of Governor Ashe, Samuel and Thomas. The latter

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was the grandfather of the present Judge Ashe, already spoken
of, and the former will be mentioned further on. There was
still another son named Cincinnatus, who, with some other
youths of the Cape Fear gentry, volunteered as midshipman on
board a privateer, fitted out at Wilmington, and commanded by
a Captain Allen, an Englishman. The vessel went to sea, and
was supposed to have been sunk by a British ship, or foundered
in some other way, as she was never more heard of. The writer
remembers when he was a child an old lady, a Mrs. Allen, en-
tirely blind, the widow of the English captain, who lived with
the families of the Northeast, first one and then another, with
whom she was always a welcome guest, and treated with much
respect and consideration.

Below The Neck, and within the precinct known as Rocky
Point, was Green Hill, the residence of Gen. John Ashe. This
gentleman did more, probably, than any other man in the prov-
ince towards arousing the spirit of resistance against what was
called British oppression. He was the prime mover and leader
of the party which resisted the Governor in his attempt to
enforce the Stamp Act. And when the War of the Revolution
did break out, he raised a regiment at his own expense, so
ardently were his feelings enlisted in the cause.

The history of General Ashe’s services is, or ought to he,
known to the people of the Cape Eear. But it may not he
known that he died in obscurity, and the place of his interment
can not he pointed out. The story is that on a visit to his
family at Green Hill when in feeble health, he was betrayed by
a faithless servant to a party of soldiers, sent out from the garri-
son at Wilmington for his capture. Taken to Wilmington, he
was confined in Craig’s “bull-pen,” as it was called. Here his
health became so feeble that he was released on parole, and at-
tempted to get to his family at Hillsboro. But he reached no
farther than Sampson Hall, the residence of Col. John Samp-
son, in the county of that name. Here he died and was buried,
and there is neither stone nor mound to mark the spot.

General Ashe left a son who also served in the War of the
Revolution — Maj. Samuel Ashe. He was an active politician
of the Democrat-Republican party, and represented for many
years the county of New Hanover in the Legislature. Of the
three daughters of General Ashe, one married Colonel Alston,
of South Carolina. Gov. Joseph Alston of South Carolina was
her son. Another married Mr. Davis ; and the third, Mr. Wil-

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

liam H. Hill. The last was the mother of Mr. Joseph Alston
Hill, the most talented man of the family, with the most bril-
liant promise of distinction when he died at the age of thirty-
six. This Green Hill property is now owned by the estate of
the late Maj. John Walker.

The Ashe family in early times after the Revolution differed
in politics with the generality of the Cape Fear gentry. The
Governor and his sons, with the exception of Col. Samuel Ashe,
were leaders of the Republican or J effersonian faction, whereas
the large majority of the gentry and educated class were Feder-
alists of the Hamilton school. After the adoption of the Federal
Constitution and a republican form of government was estab-
lished, there is no doubt hut that a good deal of feeling and
prejudice existed against what was called too much liberty and
equality, and the practice of some of the old Republicans was
not always consistent with their professed principles.

The next place of note, and adjoining Green Hill to the north,
was Moseley Hall, the residence of the Moseley family, one of
prominence in colonial times. One of them, Sampson Moseley,
Esq., was a member of the King’s council and surveyor-general
of the province, but the writer does not know that any of the
male members of the family survived the Revolution, or that
any of their descendants whatever are left. They were nearly
allied by blood to the Lillingtons. One of the daughters of the
family married a Mr. Carlton Walker, and left one son, John
Moseley Walker, who died soon after coming of age, and the
estate passed to his half-brothers and sisters. This was a large
and quite valuable place and was said to have been handsomely
improved, but all that the writer remembers seeing were the
remains of what were said to have been fine old avenues.

Crossing Clayton Creek, we come to the next place below,
known in olden times as Clayton Hall, the residence of a Mr.
Clayton, a Scotch gentleman, who died leaving no descendants,
though I believe the Restons of Wilmington were his nearest
kin. This property, which was at one time regarded as the best
plantation in Hew Hanover County, was purchased by Col.
Samuel Ashe. Colonel Ashe, when I knew him, was about the
only survivor of the olden times on the Hortheast River. He
had been a soldier in the War of the Revolution, had entered the
army when he was but seventeen years old and served through
the last three years of the war, was at the siege of Charleston,
and was there made prisoner. Colonel Ashe was a gentleman

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of commanding appearance, tall and erect, with prominent fea-
tures, deep-sunken, but piercing eyes, of fine manners and bear-
ing, of remarkable colloquial powers, and manner and style of
narration most engaging. Especially was bis fund of anecdotes
and incidents relating to the olden times most interesting, and
seemed almost inexhaustible. Of him Mr. George Davis, in bis
address at Chapel Hill in 1855, spoke as follows: “In my early
youth I remember an old man, bowed by age and infirmities,
but of noble front and most commanding presence. Old and
young gathered around him in love and veneration to listen to
his stories of the olden times. And as he spoke of his country’s
trials, and of the deeds and sufferings of her sons, his eyes
flashed with the ardor of youth, and his voice rang like the
battle charge of a bugle. He was the soul of truth and honor,
with the ripe wisdom of a man and the guileless simplicity of
a child. He won strangers to him with a look, and those who
knew him loved him with a most filial affection. Hone ever
lived more honored and revered. Hone ever died leaving a
purer or more cherished memory. This was Col. Samuel Ashe,
‘the last of all the Romans.’ ”

The old Clayton Hall mansion, left for a long time unten-
anted, went to decay, and there was nothing left of it when the
writer can remember but the foundation. He can remember an
old vault, which stood to the north of the creek, in which it is
said the remains of Mr. Clayton rested. After Colonel Ashe
came in possession of the place, he built immediately on the bank
of the creek, so that you could stand on one end of his piazza
and fish. The spring out of which they got their drinking
water flowed from the base of a rock, which formed the bank of
the creek, and when the tide was up, the spring was overflowed.

It was a great treat to visit the old colonel and hear him talk
of olden times. His memory was remarkable and his style of
narration uncommonly good.

He seemed familiar with the genealogy of every family that
had ever lived on the Cape Rear, and their traditions. It is
much to be regretted that some one who had the capacity could
not have chronicled his narratives as they were related by him-
self.

Colonel Ashe removed from Rocky Point when he was well
advanced in years to a place which he owned on the Cape Pear,
in the neighborhood of Fayetteville, where he lived several
years. His only male descendant of the name in the State, I
believe, is Capt. Samuel A. Ashe, of Raleigh.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Colonel Ashe, on his removal, sold the Clayton Hall estate to
Dr. James F. McRee, who retired from the practice of medicine
in Wilmington and made his residence here, where he carried
on planting operations with fair success. He abandoned the old
settlement, and built on what was known as the Sand Ridge,
and renamed the place, calling it Ashe-Moore, in compliment to
the two families so long known and distinguished in the Cape
Fear region. Dr. McRee had acquired a higher reputation than
any other physician of his day in the Lower Cape Fear, or even
in the whole State. The writer enjoyed the privilege of being
his pupil, and of his long friendship, and to speak of him in
such terms as he esteemed him, as a noble gentleman and physi-
cian, might seem like extravagant eulogy.

The next place on the river is The Vats. Here the river
changes its course, making a sharp, sudden bend, and a promi-
nent point of rocks jutting into the stream gives the name of
Rocky Point to all that portion of country lying west, as far
as the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. This place was first
located by Maj. Maurice Moore, one of the earliest pioneers of
the Cape Fear section. It is related that Major Moore and
Governor Burrington, both of them exploring in search of rich
lands, happened to reach this point about the same time. As
they stepped on shore from their boats, both claimed possession
by right of prior location and occupation. But the colonel
stoutly resisted His Excellency’s pretensions, and by dint of
strong will held the property. The arbitrary disposition exhib-
ited on this occasion rather strikingly illustrates what is said to
have been characteristic of the Moore family, especially that
branch of it. The lands of this place were very rich, and it
continued in the Moore family for several generations. It was
finally sold by Judge Alfred Moore to Mr. Ezekiel Lane, a most
worthy gentleman, who here laid the foundation of quite a large
estate, acquired by farming alone. Commencing with small
means, he became the largest landowner in the county of Hew
Hanover, his estate being mostly composed of those Rocky
Point lands.

The next two places, adjoining and to the south of The Vats,
were Spring Field and Strawberry, owned by Mr. Levin Lane,
a son of Mr. E. Lane, a planter like his father, and a most
worthy and highly respectable gentleman. Mr. Lane resided at
Strawberry.

Let us return to The Vats and cross the river by the ferry

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there. Traveling eastward by the New Bern Road about four
miles, we come to Lillington Hall, the residence of Gen. Alex-
ander Lillington.1 It would seem like a singular selection for
a gentleman to make for a residence, just on the border of the
Great Holly Shelter pocosin or dismal, and quite remote from
the other gentry settlements. But in those days stock raising
was much attended to, and here immense tracts of unoccupied
lands furnished rich pasturage and fine range.

General Lillington was nearly allied to the Moseleys, of
Moseley Hall, and came to reside on the Cape Fear about the
same time with them. He was an ardent Whig and patriot, and
taking up arms early in the Revolution, he soon distinguished
himself as a hold and sagacious leader. On the attempt of the
Scotch settlers about Cross Creek to move on Wilmington for
the purpose of cooperating with the British force intended to in-
vade and subjugate North Carolina, General Lillington speedily
organized the militia of New Hanover and Duplin Counties
and marched rapidly in the direction from which the enemy
approached. Selecting a position at Moore’s Creek where it was
crossed by a ridge, he threw up intrenchments and awaited the
approach of the Scots. On the arrival of General Caswell, the
superior in command, he approved of Lillington’s plans and
arrangements for meeting the enemy. The result of the battle
which ensued is well known to history, and its success was, by
his contemporaries, mainly attributed to Lillington’s prompt
movement and skillful arrangements.

The Lillington Hall mansion was a quaint old structure of
ante-Revolutionary date, and standing alone ; there was no house
that approached it in size or appearance in that wild region.
When the writer visited there while a youth there was quite a
library of rare old English hooks which would be highly prized
at this day. At that time it was owned and occupied by Mr.
Samuel Black, a highly respectable and worthy gentleman, who
had married the widow of Mr. George Lillington, the youngest
son of the colonel. This place, like all the residences of the
early gentry, has gone out of the family and into stranger hands.

As there is no other place of note on the east side of the river,
we will recross the ferry at The Vats, and following the road

General Lillington married a daughter of Mr. William Watters, one
of the most esteemed planters of Brunswick. The Watters family in
every generation has been most highly regarded for its worth and ex-
cellence. Mrs. Lillington is said to have been on the field with her hus-
band at the Battle of Moore’s Creek.

70 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

leading west to where it crosses the main county road, come to
Moore Fields. This was the residence of George Moore, Esq.,
one of the most prominent gentlemen of his day, both before and
after the Revolution. I remember the old mansion as it stood,
hut much dilapidated. Not a vestige of it is left now. There
had been raised near the house two mounds for rabbit-warrens,
and near by was a fishpond. Mr. Moore was the father of a
numerous progeny. He was twice married. His first wife was
a Miss Mary Ashe, a sister, I believe, of Governor Ashe; the
second was a Miss Jones. There is extant an old copy of the
Church of England Prayer-book in the possession of one of his
descendants (Hr. William H. Moore) in which are recorded the
births and names of his children by these marriages, and there
were twenty-seven. From these or the survivors, for many of
them must have died during infancy, have sprung many of the
families of the Cape Fear region, some of whose descendants
are still living there, among whom can be mentioned the Hon.
George Davis, who has no superior, if any equal, here or in any
other part of the State. Also, the Hon. Thomas S. Ashe is one
of the lineal descendants of this old stock. There was one of
the granddaughters, Miss Sallie Moore, who was reputed to be
the greatest beauty of her day. Her father, William Moore,
removed to the State of Tennessee, where she was heard of still
living a few years since.

George Moore of Moore Fields, as he was familiarly called,
was remarkable for his great energy and good management; a
man of considerable wealth, owning many slaves. He had a
summer residence on the sound, to reach which he crossed the
Northeast River at The Vats ferry; and from a mile or two to
the east of it, he had made a perfectly straight road, ditched on
each side, twenty miles in length. This road, though no longer
used, can still be traced. It is related that when corn was wanted
at the summer place, one hundred negro fellows would be
started, each with a bushel bag on his head. There is quite a
deep ditch leading from some large bay swamps lying to the
west of the county road. It used to be called the Devils Ditch,
and there was some mystery and idle tradition as to why and
how the ditch was cut there. It was doubtless made to drain
the water from those bays, to flood some lands cultivated in rice
which were too low to be drained for corn.

We will now pass down the old Swann Point Avenue to the
county road, and, traveling west, soon reach and cross Turkey

THIS MAP IS INACCURATE IN SOME RESPECTS. PELHAM WAS ONCE PROPOSED
AS THE NAME OF A NEW COUNTV, BUT EVENTUALLY WHEN THE
COUNTY WAS CREATED IT WAS CALLED SAMPSON

LOWER. CAPE FEAR SECTION

AND

ADJACENT COUNTRY

GIVING THE LOCATION OF SOME OF THE
OLD PLANTATIONS AND NAMES
OF THE PLANTERS

MADE IN 1775

HENRY MOUZON

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1Q\ OM >W3H

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Creek, and come to that famous old plantation, Spring Garden,
the residence of Frederick Jones, Esq., noted in his day as
being the most industrious and successful farmer in all the
country round. Mr. Jones was a Virginian, induced to settle
on the Cape Fear by Mr. Swann, whose niece he had married.
Besides the son, who assumed the name of Swann, there were
five daughters, one of whom married Mr. John Hill, of Fair
Fields. She was the mother of the late Dr. Frederick J. and
John Hill. Another married Michael Sampson, Esq.,, of Samp-
son Hall. The remaining three daughters married three broth-
ers, Scotch gentlemen, by the name of Cutlar. Only one of
these left children, Dr. Boger Cutlar, who was the father of the
late Dr. Frederick J. Cutlar, of Wilmington, eminent in his
profession and beloved for his purity of character. From this
good old Spring Garden stock, comes also the writer’s best
esteemed and most worthy friend, DuBrutz Cutlar, Esq.1

We will now retrace our steps across Turkey Creek. Passing
over the river at The Oaks and going through what was called
Legare’s Heck, we come to Castle Haynes. Legare’s, a deep
neck formed by the river on one side and Prince George’s Creek
on the other, was widely known as a favorite resort for deer and
a famous hunting ground. Castle Haynes was the residence of
a Mr. Haynes, of whose history the writer has heard but little,
except that he was the ancestor of the Waddell family, among
whom I have heard related the tradition of his sad death by
drowning. It is said that he was ill of a fever and, while in
delirium, he rose from his bed and rushed to the creek, which
was near by, plunged in, and was drowned before assistance
could reach him.

This Mr. Haynes married a daughter of Rev. Richard Mars-
den, who prior to 1736 served long as a minister on the Cape
Fear, and left two daughters: Margaret, who married Mr.

iBesides the plantations here mentioned in this paper, near the lower
Ferry were Mulberry and The Oaks, the latter being the residence of
Mr. Swann. Mulberry was the headquarters of General Lillington while
hemming in the British forces that occupied Wilmington. And where
the railroad crosses the county road, one mile south of Rocky Point
station, was Hyrneham, built by Colonel Hyrne, and famous in the early
days of the settlement. Later, it was the birthplace of Dr. Hill. Hyrne-
ham, like The Oaks, was built of brick, the walls nearly three feet thick.
They were commodious and handsome residences. Farther west were
Mt. Gallant, the home of Col. John Pugh Williams; Pleasant Hall, Wil-
liam Davis’ residence, and Swann Point, where the old councilor John
Swann lived. The river was crossed by Heron Bridge, and on the south
side was Mt. Blake, the residence of the McKenzies. Being occupied
by Major Craig, it was burned by General Lillington in 1781.

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George Burgwyn, and Mary, who became the wife of Col. Hugh
Waddell, from which union sprang the Waddell family, so long
and honorably known on the Cape Fear.

Turning east from Castle Haynes and crossing the county
road, we come to The Hermitage, the residence of the Burgwyn
family. The founder of this family was Mr. John Burgwyn,
an English gentleman, in olden times an opulent merchant, who
carried on an extensive commerce between Wilmington and
Bristol in England. He must have had fine taste, as displayed
by the manner in which the grounds around The Hermitage
were laid off and improved. Its fine avenues and handsomely
arranged pleasure-grounds surpassed everything in the whole
country round. Mr. George Burgwyn, who occupied The
Hermitage after his father’s death, was also a gentleman of
good taste, and devoted much attention to the decoration of the
place, keeping it in handsome condition.

Mr. George Burgwyn reared a numerous and highly respect-
able family. His oldest son, Capt. J ohn Burgwyn, of the United
States Army, was killed in battle in the Mexican War, and his
grandson, Gen. George B. Anderson, died of a wound received
at the Battle of Antietam.

We will turn now westward and, crossing the county road at
a short distance, come to Rocky Run, where lived Dr. Nathaniel
Hill. In earlier times this place was the residence of Mr.
Maurice Jones, whose daughter Dr. Hill married. Of the his-
tory of this gentleman, Mr. Jones, the writer never heard much.
But a tradition worth relating will illustrate his firmness and
remarkable self-possession and presence of mind. He was a great
woodsman, and in the habit of still-hunting. On one occasion
he was creeping to shoot a deer, which was feeding at a dog-
wood tree. When, feeling that something was dragging at one
of his legs, he turned his head and saw that it was a large rattle-
snake, which had struck and fastened its fangs in the buck-
skin leggings that all huntsmen wore at that day, he deliberately
crawled on, dragging the snake as he went. Getting within
proper range, he fired and killed the deer, then, turning, killed
the snake.

Dr. Nathaniel Hill was sent to Scotland when he was quite
young, where he was placed with an apothecary. Having com-
pleted a full term at this business, he entered the medical col-
lege at Edinburgh, where he remained until he had completed
his medical course. Returning home before he was quite of age,

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he entered actively upon the practice of his profession at Wil-
mington. Full of energy and earnestness, with remarkable
sagacity and decision, he very soon acquired the confidence of
the community. His reputation was established and not sur-
passed in the whole Cape Fear region.

After a laborious and lucrative practice of twenty-five years,
Dr. Hill retired with an independent estate to Rocky Run,
where he had built a comfortable and commodious house. Here,
before the prime of his life was over and in the full vigor of
manhood, he took up his abode and for many years dispensed a
liberal hospitality to a large circle of friends and relatives.

On the first day of J anuary of each year, that being Dr. Hill’s
birthday, a numerous party of friends and relatives always as-
sembled at Rocky Run to celebrate the event with feasting and
good cheer. Then it was that those fine deer hunts came off,
which were so skillfully conducted that they were invariably
successful. The standers were judiciously placed, and the
bringing down of the game depended on their skill as marks-
men. In the management of these hunts, the guests, whether old
or young, were invariably placed at the best stands, the doctor
taking the chances as they might arrive for himself. He always
carried a long flint-and-steel single-barrel silver-mounted gun,
and it was not often that he failed to bring down the deer
coming fairly by him within one hundred yards. Many a day
of sport has the writer enjoyed with this noble old gentleman at
his fine old seat. Most systematic and punctual in his habits,
invariably as we rose from the breakfast table (8 o’clock in
winter) the driver was waiting with horses and dogs, eager for
the drive, and as punctually we returned by 2 o’clock, the dinner
hour, as the family were never kept waiting.

The old Rocky Run mansion was destroyed by fire many
years since, and the plac,e has shared the fate of all others on
the Northeast and fallen into stranger hands.

The next two places below on the river were Rose Hill, the
residence of the Quince family, and Rock Hill, of the Davises,
two rather inconsiderable and inferior rice plantations. The
Quinces were among the earliest of the gentry settlers on the
Cape Fear. I have heard an old story related about a Mr.
Parker Quince, somewhat characteristic, I presume, of himself
and his times. It seems that he was a merchant and quite a
trafficker. In sending an order for goods on one occasion to
London (from whence most all importations were made) a

74 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

dozen cheeses were included and several gross of black tacks.
Instead of the cheeses, they sent a dozen English chaises, and
for the tacks there was sent an immense number of black jacks,
as they were called, a kind of japanned-tin drinking mug; his
correspondent apologizing for not completing the order as to the
cups, as he had bought up all that could he found in the shops
of London. Mr. Quince either spelled badly or wrote illegibly,
probably a little of both.

There was one of the Quinces, who, for some family reason
or other, adopted the name of Hasell — William Soranzo
Hasell.1 He was much esteemed and the intimate friend of
many of the gentlemen of his day. When party politics ran
high between the old Federalists and Republicans he edited a
paper called The Minerva > advocating the principles of the
Federal party, and was well sustained and caressed by his
friends. He must have been a man of fine literary taste, judg-
ing from the number of old volumes of the best English litera-
ture with his name and coat of arms inscribed on them, which
I have come across in the old libraries.

Rock Hill was handsomely located on a bluff commanding a
fine view of the river. It was in olden times the residence of
Mr. Jehu Davis, and more lately of Mr. Thomas J. Davis, his
son. The name of Davis, both in early and later times on the
Cape Fear, has always been associated with all that was highly
respectable and honorable, and it has been most eminently sus-
tained in the person of Hon. George Davis, of Wilmington, and
the late Bishop Davis, of South Carolina.

Proceeding farther down, but not immediately on the river,
was once a place known as Hesces Creek, on a creek of that
name, which before the Revolution was the residence of Arthur
Mabson, Esq., a gentleman noted for his great energy and indus-
try, by which he had accumulated a considerable estate, but he
died the first year of the war, at the early age of forty. This
place was long ago abandoned, and I do not suppose there is a
vestige of its improvements left.

Crossing Hesces Creek and going a mile or so farther on, we
come to where once stood Fair Fields, also gone totally to ruin.
Here lived Mr. John Hill, a gentleman of note in his day, fre-
quently representing the county in the Legislature. He had
been a soldier in the Revolution, entered the army while quite

*He took the name of his mother, who was Susannah Hasell, a grand-
daughter of Chief Justice Hasell.

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young, and served with General Greene in his southern cam-
paigns.

Passing on, we come to Sans Souci. Of the early history of
this place the writer knows nothing. Por many years past it
has been the residence of the late Mr. Arthur J. Hill.

Crossing Smith’s Creek, we come to Hilton. This was the
residence of Cornelius Harnett, Esq., and the old mansion was
erected by him. It is not surprising that this point should have
attracted the admiration of those who first selected it and built
upon it. A fine bluff, near the junction of Smith’s Creek with
the river, it has a commanding and extensive view up and down
the stream. Although much out of repair and the grounds
mutilated by the deep cut of a railroad passing through them,
it is still the most attractive spot near the city of Wilmington.

Cornelius Harnett was about the most noted and conspicuous
personage of his day in the whole Cape Fear region. No man
more entirely commanded the confidence and admiration of the
community in which he lived.

Either on account of feeble health or advanced life, Mr.
Harnett was not an active participant as a soldier in the War
of the Revolution; both heart and means were nevertheless en-
listed in the cause, and after Wilmington was occupied by the
British, he was wrested from a sick bed and confined in their
prison, where he died in consequence of their harsh and brutal
treatment.

Mr. Harnett, I believe, left no descendants, and in after times
Hilton became the property and the residence of William H.
Hill, Esq. This gentleman was said to have possessed fine
qualities of both head and heart. Genial of temper and fond of
conviviality, he attracted many friends around him, and was
always the life of his company. He was a leading spirit among
the gentlemen of the Federal party, when politics ran high, and
represented the Wilmington district in Congress during the
administration of the elder Adams.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

SOCIAL CONDITIONS.

In McKee’s valuable Life and Correspondence of James Ire-
dell, that gifted Wilmingtonian says:

“Mr. Hooper was nine year Mr. Iredell’s senior, and already
a man of mark at the bar and in the Assembly. To estimate at
its full value his deference to Iredell, these facts must be borne
in mind. Mr. Hooper was a native of Boston, and a graduate
of Cambridge, Mass. After studying law with James Otis, he
removed to North Carolina, in 1764. He became a citizen of
Wilmington. That town and its vicinity was noted for its un-
bounded hospitality and the elegance of its society. Men of
rare talents, fortune, and attainment, united to render it the
home of politeness, and ease, and enjoyment. Though the foot-
print of the Indian had, as yet, scarcely been effaced, the higher
civilization of the Old World had been transplanted there, and
had taken vigorous root. There were Col. John Ashe (subse-
quently General Ashe), the great popular leader, whose address
was consummate, and whose quickness of apprehension seemed
intuition, the very Rupert of debate ; Samuel Ashe, of stalwart
frame, endowed with practical good sense, a profound knowl-
edge of human nature, and an energy that eventually raised him
to the bench and the post of governor; Harnett, afterwards
president of the Provincial Council, ‘who could boast a genius
for music and a taste for letters,’ the representative man of the
Cape Pear; Dr. John Eustace, the correspondent of Sterne, ‘who
united wit, and genius, and learning, and science’ ; Col. Thomas
Boyd ‘gifted with talents, and adorned with classical literature’ ;
Howe (afterwards General Howe), ‘whose imagination fasci-
nated, whose repartee overpowered, and whose conversation was
enlivened by strains of exquisite raillery’; Dr. John Pergus, of
stately presence, with velvet coat, cocked hat, and gold-headed
cane, a graduate of Edinburgh, and an excellent Latin and
Greek scholar ; William Pennington, comptroller of the customs
and afterwards master of the ceremonies at Bath, ‘an elegant
writer, admired for his wit, and his highly polished urbanity’ ;
Judge Maurice Moore, of ‘versatile talents, and possessed of
extensive information, as a wit, always prompt in reply; as an
orator, always daring the mercy of chance’ ; Maclaine, irascible,
but intellectual, who trod the path of honor early pari passu
with Iredell, Hooper, and Johnston, and ‘whose criticisms on

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Shakespeare would, if they were published, give him fame and
rank in the republic of letters’ ; William Hill, ‘a most sensible,
polite gentleman, and though a Crown officer, replete with senti-
ments of general liberty, and warmly attached to the cause of
American freedom’ ; Lillington, destined soon at Moore’s Creek
to render his name historic; James Moore, subsequently ap-
pointed a brigadier general, whose promises of a brilliant
career were soon to be terminated by a premature death ; Lewis
Henry DeRosset, member of the Council, a cultivated and ele-
gant gentleman ; Adam Boyd, editor of the Cape Fear Mercury
(subsequently chaplain to the Continental Line), ‘who, without
pretensions to wit or humor, possessed the rare art of telling a
story with spirit and grace, and whose elegiac numbers afforded
a striking contrast to the vivid brilliancy of the scenes in which
he figured’ ; Alfred Moore, subsequently an associate justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States ; Timothy Bloodworth,
stigmatized by his enemies as an impracticable radical, ‘every-
thing by turns,’ but withal a true exponent of the instincts and
prejudices, the finest feelings and the noblest impulses of the
masses. These were no ordinary men. They were of the remark-
able class that seem ever to be the product of crises in human
affairs. Though inferior to many of them in the influence that
attends years, opulence, and extensive connections, yet in schol-
arship and genius, Mr. Hooper was preeminent. I use the word
genius in contradistinction to talent. He had much nervous irri-
tability, was imaginative and susceptible. With a well-disci-
plined mind, and of studious habits, he shone with lustre when-
ever he pleased to exert himself.”

To the above we add the name of Lieut. Thomas Godfrey,
who, having served in the war against the French at the Uorth
in the Pennsylvania forces, moved from Philadelphia and
settled in Wilmington. He possessed the creative faculty in an
eminent degree and many of his poems have remarkable beauty.
The writer has been fortunate enough to secure a copy of his
poetical works, prefaced by some account of the author and his
writings. This volume was published in Philadelphia in 1765
and contains about two hundred and fifty pages. Its publica-
tion could only be made by subscription, and of the two hun-
dred and sixty subscribers it is gratifying to observe that
twenty-four were Uorth Carolinians. Their names are given
as follows: William Bartram, jr., James Bailey, William

Campbell, Alexander Chapman, Robert Cochran, William

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Davis, Col. Caleb Grainger, Benjamin Heron, Alexander Dun-
can, Walter DuBois, Cornelius Harnett, Obediah Holt, Robert
Johnson, Col. James Moore, Archibald Maclaine, Archibald
McDuffie, Alexander Martin, Mrs. Anne ETissfield, William
Purviance, J ohn Robeson, Robert Schaw, Patrick Stewart,
James Stewart, and William Watkins. Hearly all of these
names are familiar to ns, and it is apparent that the poet was
appreciated during his life in Wilmington and numbered among
his friends men of the first consequence in our community,
doubtless having congenial associations with Harnett, Maclaine,
Moore, and others of like distinction.

The rare old volume, yellowed by age and procured only after
years of search, says: “Mr. Thomas Godfrey, the Author of

the following Poems, was born in Philadelphia, in the year
1736. His Pather, who was of the same name, was a Glazier
by trade, and likewise a Citizen of Philadelphia — a person
whose great natural capacity for Mathematics has occasioned
his name to be known in the learned world, being (as has been
heretofore shown by undeniable evidences) the original and real
inventor of the very useful and famous Sea-Quadrant, which
has been called Pladley’s. He died when his son was very
young and left him to the care of his Relations, by whom he
was placed to an English school, and there received ‘a common
education in his mother tongue’ ; and without any other advan-
tage than that, a natural genius, and an attentive perusal of the
works of our English Poets, he soon exhibited to the world the
strongest proofs of poetical capacity.”

Besides his talent for poetry, he is said to have possessed a
fine ear for music and a strong inclination towards painting,
desiring to have lessons in the latter; but his relatives had
other plans, and his biographer, continuing, says: “He was

put to a watch-maker in this city, but still the muses and
graces, poetry and painting stole his attention. He devoted
therefore all his private hours to the cultivation of his parts,
and towards the expiration of his time he composed those per-
formances that were published with so much favorable notice.”
At length he quitted the business of watch-making and got
himself recommended for a lieutenant’s commission in the
Pennsylvania forces, raised in the year 1758, for the expedi-
tion against Port DuQuesne, in which station he continued
until the campaign was over and the provincial troops dis-
banded.

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The succeeding spring he had an offer made him of settling
as a factor in North Carolina, and, being unemployed, he ac-
cepted the proposal and presently embarked for Wilmington,
where he lived more than three years. In Wilmington he com-
pleted the dramatic poem the Prince of Parthia , as appears by
a letter dated November 17, 1759. “By the last vessel from
this place,’7 says Godfrey in this letter, “I sent you the copy of
a Tragedy I finished here, and desired your interest in bringing
it on the stage. I have not yet heard of the vessel’s arrival, and
believe, if she is safe, it will be too late for the Company now at
Philadelphia.” He was but twenty-two years of age when this
drama was completed.

On the death of his employer, Godfrey left North Carolina
and returned to Philadelphia; but finding no advantageous
opening there he determined to make another voyage abroad,
and procuring some small commissions went as a supercargo to
the island of New Providence, where he was for some months.
Prom New Providence, led as it were by some sad fatality, he
sailed once more to Wilmington, North Carolina, “where, a few
weeks after his arrival,” says his biographer, “he was unex-
pectedly summoned to pay the debt of nature, and death put a
stop to his earthly wanderings by hurrying him off this shadowy
state into boundless eternity. He happened one very hot day
to take a ride into the country, and not being accustomed to this
exercise and of a corpulent habit of body, it is imagined that
the heat overcame him, for the night following he was seized
with a violent vomiting and malignant fever, which continued
seven or eight days, and at 10 o’clock a. m., on the third of
August, 1763, put a period to his life in the twenty-seventh year
of his age.

“Thus hastily was snatched off in the prime of manhood this
promising genius, beloved and lamented by all who knew him.
His sweet, amiable disposition, his integrity of heart, his en-
gaging modesty and diffidence of manners, his fervent and dis-
interested love for his friends endeared him to all those who
shared his acquaintance and have stamped the image of him in
indelible characters on the hearts of his more intimate friends.”
He was interred in the burial ground attached to St. James’s
Church in Wilmington and a tombstone marks the spot.

McBee, referring to him in his Imperfect Sketch of the His-
tory of the Town of Wilmington , published in the Wilmington
Chronicle of September 16, 1846, says: “He wrote several

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pieces descriptive of the vicinity where he dwelt. One was on
Masonboro Sound, and possessed great beauty, being remarkable
for its felicity of diction and thought and its graphic excellence.
“The verses of this poet,” he adds, “were once greatly in vogue
in the neighborhood in which he selected a home and found
friends warm and steady; and there were but few gentlemen
who could not repeat from memory some passages from his pen.”
His works were first published by the American Magazine ,
and later some were copied in the English magazines. His
American publishers gave the highest praise to his efforts and
were also much interested in proclaiming his father’s genius.
“Nature,” say they, “seems not to have designed the father for
a greater mathematician than the son for a poet.” In publish-
ing his Court of Fancy in 17 62, they say : “What shall place

him high in the lists of poets is a poem of considerable length
called the Court of Fancy , in managing which he shines in all
the spirit of true creative poetry.”

His last publication, The Victory, which is designated as a
“nervous and noble song of triumph,” appeared in the Pennsyl-
vania Gazette in 1763. The Prince of Parthia is regarded as
the first attempt in America at dramatic composition, and is
spoken of as “no inconsiderable effort towards one of the sub-
limest species of poetry, and no mean instance of the author’s
strong inherited genius.” Of his published writings his biog-
rapher says: “Upon the whole, I persuade myself that the

severest critic, looking over smaller matters, will allow these
writings of Mr. Godfrey to be aptly characterized in the follow-
ing lines from the Court of Fancy:

‘Bold Fancy’s hand th’ amazing pile uprears,

In every part stupendous skill appears;

In beautiful disorder, yet complete,

The structure shines irregularly great.’ ”

LIBRARIES ON THE CAPE EEAR.

It is to he much regretted that so few memorials of the social
and intellectual life of the old Cape Fear people have been pre-
served. They enjoyed the elegance that attends wealth and
they possessed libraries that bespeak culture.

When Edward Moseley was passing through Charleston in
1703, he was employed to make a catalogue of the library books
there; and, on locating in Albemarle, he at once began the col-

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lection of a library. Later, he presented a library to the town
of Edenton. When, about 1135, he removed to Rocky Point
and built Moseley Hall, he brought his library with him.

But perhaps superior to Moseley’s was the library of Eleazar
Allen, at Lillipnt. The inventory of this collection of books has
been preserved. Made at his death, about 1749, it shows over
three hundred volumes in English and Latin, including the
standard works of that era — the classics, poetry, history, works
of fiction, as well as works of a religions nature; and, besides,
some fifty in French, not only histories, travels, poetry, and
fiction, but also French translations of the most celebrated Latin
authors. One finds in that atmosphere a culture unsurpassed
elsewhere in America.

The Hasells likewise had a good library; also Judge Maurice
Moore; and Gen. John Ashe had one he prized so highly that
he made special efforts to preserve it, but unfortunately it was
destroyed during the last year of the Revolutionary War.

While there were libraries at the homes of the gentlemen in
the country, at Wilmington there was the Cape Fear Library,
one volume of which, at least, has been preserved — a volume of
Shakespeare, with notes made by Archibald Maclaine, of Wil-
mington, a nephew of the historian Mosher, which are of un-
usual merit. Many of the Rocky Point books appear to have
been collected at Lillington Hall, and others have been preserved
in the Hasell collection. A part of the Hasell collection, em-
bracing books of Moseley printed before 1700, of Alexander
Lillington, and of others, has been placed in the State Library
at Raleigh.

COLONIAL GOVERNORS OE NORTH CAROLINA.

(Extracts from an address delivered by Mr. John Jay Blair before the North
Carolina Society of Colonial Dames at Brunswick, N. C.)

I have selected for my subject the governors who resided here
on the Cape Fear, with a view to the formulating of a connected
story of their respective administrations, together with a refer-
ence to events in the province which are of sufficient importance
to have any bearing upon its life.

On the 25th of February, 1731, Burrington, who had just
arrived in the colony, took the oath of office before the Council,
assembled at Edenton.

Probably the fairest estimate of Burrington is that given by

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

William Saunders in his prefatory notes to the third volume
of the Colonial Records: “Historians have fallen into grave

errors in regard to Governor Burrington. They go on to state,
hut upon what evidence is not known, that he ended his life
after rioting in his usual manner all night in the Bird Cage
Walk in the corner of St. James’s Park in London; and the
impression is created that his disgraceful death occurred soon
after his return to London. The statement is certainly untrue
in several material points. Precisely when he returned to Eng-
land does not appear, but from an entry in the journal of the
Board of Trade it is shown that he was there on the 10th of
June, 1735. Other entries and communications show that he
was in frequent communication from that time until Decem-
ber, 1736, after which no reference is made to him.”

That he was a man of violent temper, of a contentious dispo-
sition, overhearing and domineering towards his subordinates
is sustained without question by the historical records of the
times. It is known that he was ordered to appear before the
court and that three distinct warrants for his arrest were issued.
The papers, however, were never served, an entry having been
made on the court record that the indictment was quashed. It
is said that he escaped from the colony on a pretext of visiting
South Carolina, but sailed for England immediately upon
reaching Charleston.

What, then, in view of all the conflicting statements, is the
real character of Burrington?

1. Previously he had been governor of the province under the
Lords Proprietors, his reappointment serving as undoubted evi-
dence of his ability.

2. His official papers are well written and show an intimate
knowledge of the country and of measures best adapted to pro-
mote its development.

3. He is known to have been a scientist of considerable abil-
ity, having made a study of the animal and vegetable life of the
Cape Fear.

4. Considerable attention was given by him to making sound-
ings and surveying rivers and harbors in the interest of naviga-
tion.

At this point an extract from some of his letters can he in-
troduced with propriety: “Horth Carolina was little known or
mentioned before I was governor for the Proprietors (1725).
When I first came I found the inhabitants few and poor. I

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took all methods I thought would induce people from other
countries to settle themselves in this. Perfecting a settlement
on the Cape Fear River cost me a great sum of money and
infinite trouble. I endured, the first winter I spent there, all
the hardships that could happen to a man destitute of a house
to live in; that was above a hundred miles from a neighbor in
a pathless country and was obliged to have all provisions brought
by sea at a great expense to support the number of men I carried
there, paid, and maintained at my sole expense.

“It can hardly he imagined what pains I took sounding the
inlets, bars, and rivers of this province, which I performed no
less than four times. I discovered and made known the chan-
nels of the Cape Fear River and Port Beaufort and Topsail
Inlet, before unused and unknown. In attempting these and
other discoveries by land and water, I often ran the hazard of
drowning and starving; and never retained any other reward
or gratification hut the thanks of two assemblies in this country
for all the pains I took and the money I expended in carrying
on and completing these enterprises.”

In the light of history, Burrington, then, must stand out as
a man of ability, hut possessing grievous faults of such a nature
as to disqualify him for the position which he occupied. One
writer says he was a wiser ruler than his predecessor, Everard,
and possessing no more faults ; he was, too, to say the least, as
wise as his successor, Gabriel Johnston, and no more arbitrary.

Events of Burrington’s administration :

1. Marking the boundary line between North Carolina and
Virginia.

2. Laying out roads, building bridges, and establishing fer-
ries. From Edenton to Wilmington a road was run nearly two
hundred miles, with three long ferries to cross.

The next administration, that of Gabriel Johnston, beginning
in 1731 and extending over a period of nearly twenty years,
was marked by many incidents and events which had important
and vital bearing upon the future destiny of the colony.

The fact that Gabriel Johnston had resided upon the Cape
Fear is not generally recognized. His immediate place of resi-
dence and incidents connected with his life have both been ob-
scured and subordained by matters of graver importance.

He has come down to us with the reputation of having done
more to promote the prosperity of the colony than all the other

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

colonial governors put together. One historian says he deserves
the gratitude of every citizen of the State ; another lands him as
a benefactor, a paragon of learning and of education; another
states that he was the ablest of all the colonial governors. As a
mark of honor a noted fort and a county in the State have
borne his name.

An incident in his administration which can properly be
introduced here, is a record of events which led to the removal
of the county seat from Brunswick to Wilmington. The legis-
lative records show that the discussion extended over a long
period of time, but was finally accomplished during his admin-
istration, the name Wilmington being given to the new seat of
government in honor of his patron, Spencer Compton, Earl of
Wilmington and Viscount Pevensey. The records show his
course in this matter to have been harsh and arbitrary.

In one of his letters to the Board of Trade, he discloses some
interest in the country’s industrial progress. He condemns the
method of manufacturing tar, encourages the raising of hemp,
refers to the colonists planting mulberries for the raising of raw
silks and cultivating the vine for the production of wines. He
refers to the making of oil from the olive and from nuts and
seeds which grow spontaneously here, and says the collector’s
books show that forty-two ships were loaded from the Cape Fear
within twelve months. A letter from the Board of Trade in
reply to this says : “When you mentioned forty-two ships that

went from the Cape Fear River, you ought to have sent us a
more particular account thereof, as likewise what the said ships
were loaded with. It is with pleasure we read the account you
have given us of the people settled on the Cape Fear River.”

Events of Johnston’s administration:

1. A fort built as a protection against the Spaniards on the
south bank of the Cape Fear, and called in honor of the Gov-
ernor, Fort Johnston.

2. A printing press was imported into the province from
Virginia by James Davis.

3. In 1749 emigrants from Scotland flocked to the Cape Fear.

4. In 1752, September 2 was reckoned the 14th, omitting
eleven days.

5. In 1738, the division of the province into three counties,
Albemarle, Bath, and Clarendon, was abolished, the precincts
now being called counties, with a sheriff appointed for each.

Permanent Settlement

6. In 1740, England having declared war against Spain, 400
men were raised in the colony.

7. The population of North Carolina at the beginning of
Johnston’s administration was nearly 50,000 in all, and at the
close about 90,000.

8. Records show that emigrants followed the streams in
forming their settlements, searching for “bottom lands.”

The next governor appointed by the Crown was Arthur
Dobbs, who arrived in New Bern in the fall of 1754 and as-
sumed control of the government.

His term of office is known to have been marked by consid-
erable contention and discord, frequently on matters which were
frivolous and unimportant.

For the greater part of his life he resided at Brunswick and
in the Old Town Creek settlement. Numerous allusions were
made in his letters to the building of churches in Brunswick and
Wilmington.

Without some extended reference to St. Philip’s Church and
the related ecclesiastical status of the colony during Burrington’s
and Dobbs’s administrations this record would be incomplete.

In a letter to the bishop of London, April 23, 1734, John
LaPierre writes from “New Hanover, alias Cape Fear,” “I was
the first minister of the Church of England that came to these
places to preach, which I did during three years and a half.”

In a letter of July 7, 1735, Richard Marsden wrote to the
bishop of London: “I have been at Cape Fear near seven

years, and can truly say that I have from my heart and soul
done my utmost to promote the glory of God.”

On April 7, 1760, during Dobbs’s term of office, the church
wardens and vestry “begged to recommend Rev. John Mc-
Dowell as a good minister of the Church of England, who has
been in this province since 1754, and officiated in our neighbor-
ing parish of St. James until May, 1757, and the next year in
Brunswick and Wilmington, and from that time our minister
in this parish.

“We are building a very large brick church, which is near
done, and hope soon to have a glebe, hut at present we are a poor
parish, very heavily taxed on occasion of the present war with
the French and Indians, therefore can’t afford to give a compe-
tency so as to maintain him and his young family in a decent
manner.”

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

An extract from a letter of the Bev. John McDowell in 1760,
to the bishop of London, gives the following information :
“Nothing can give me greater pleasure than to hear that my
conduct is approved, I have been south as far as the borders
of South Carolina assembling a great number of people from
both provinces, and we were obliged to assemble under the shady
trees. I baptized one day on that visit thirty-two children and
adults, among them five free mulattoes.

“It is impossible for me to live here where my salary is so
small and everything so dear. I could not have continued so
long had I not had some fortune with my wife, which, if I
continue here much longer, must go. I was obliged to sell a
slave last year to help us to subsist, though no persons ever
lived in a more frugal manner.’7

April 15, 1760, Governor Dobbs recommended McDowell
fixed in this parish: “I therefore join with them in these

applications, as it is the parish I reside in, and propose when
the church is finished, which is now roofing, to be His Majesty’s
chapel in this government, to which he has been pleased to give
the communion plate, surplice, and furniture for the communion
table and pulpit, Bible and Common Prayer-books, to have the
service performed with decency. This church will be the larg-
est and most complete in this province, and may be an exemplar
for building other churches.”

April 17, 1760, McDowell writes : “It is with great pleasure
that I can acquaint society that my parishioners of Brunswick
have a fine large church, by far the largest in the province, in
great forwardness — the brickwork is done and a great part of
the roof up. We hope to have the church covered and fit for
the purpose of divine service this ensuing summer, and a par-
sonage house to be actually built and a glebe purchased for me.

“His Excellency, Governor Dobbs, will put up a pew for
himself, a chancel-rail, a pulpit, and a reading desk; and will
give a carpet for the communion table, plate and linen for the
communion service, and a surplice for the minister.” This
was his seventh year of service.

April 16, 1761, McDowell writes: “The roof of the new

church at Brunswick is all fallen down again. It was struck
with lightning last July, and afterwards a prodigious and im-
moderate amount of rain falling on it made it all tumble down ;
and there it lies just as it fell; the chapel is a most miserable
old house, only 24 by 12, and every shower or blast of wind
blows through it.”

Permanent Settlement

The principal event of Dobbs’s administration was the acces-
sion, in 1761, of George III. to the throne.

Mr. Haywood, in the preface of his book on Governor Tryon,
makes the following suggestive observation : aEver since I have
learned to rely more upon documentary evidence than upon the
individual opinions of writers, I have been convinced that his-
tory has dealt too harshly with the memory of Governor Tryon.”

Governor Tryon was born in the handsome family residence
in Surrey in the year 1729. He arrived in the province at Cape
Fear on Wednesday, October 10, 1764, and next day waited on
Governor Dobbs, who had already been apprised of his coming.
Dobbs refused to relinquish the office at once, which was a bitter
disappointment to Tryon, who wanted to put into immediate
effect the policies which he had outlined.

The Governor’s mansion being still in possession of the in-
cumbent in office, Tryon experienced great inconvenience in
securing accommodations for himself and his family, who ac-
companied him.

The venerable Governor Dobbs was destined never to leave
Horth Carolina, for, on the 28th of March following, death
brought relief to the aged ruler, and when his remains were laid
to rest on the Town Creek Plantation, there being not a clergy-
man within a hundred miles of Brunswick, the burial service
had to be conducted by a justice of the peace.

One of the first official acts of Governor Tryon was to arrange
for the establishment of a seat of government at Hew Bern,
with the result that the town began to prosper.

The third session of the Legislature having met on the 3d
of May, after a short encomium on his predecessor’s administra-
tion, he advised the houses to improve the hour of tranquillity in
promoting the internal polity of the province, making the fol-
lowing recommendations: “The establishment of a clergyman

in each parish, whose salary should be paid out of the public
treasury. * That they reflect upon the present state of the
Church that it might no longer suffer from so great neglect ; that
provision be made to enable the postmaster general to establish
a line of post roads through the province of Horth Carolina,,
also a committee appointed to contract for conveying the mail
from Suffolk, Va., to South Carolina.

The most noteworthy event of this decade was the passage by
Parliament of the notorious Stamp Act. An attempt on the

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

part of the Governor was made to pacify the people of Wil-
mington, but their opposition to the Stamp Act was persistent,
and on the 26th of June, the mayor, recorder, and aldermen of
Wilmington presented an address to Governor Try on congratu-
lating him on its repeal and on the happy prospect of the union
and harmony thereby established between the colony and the
mother country.

“In 1767, on the rise of the Legislature,” says Martin, “Gov-
ernor Try on lost no time in carrying into effect his darling
scheme of building a palace, having exerted all his influence to
obtain the passage of the bill for its erection. This measure
was thought by many to have laid the foundation of the series
of disorders and commotions which terminated in the Battle of
Alamance. However, it afforded him an opportunity of leaving
behind an elegant monument of his taste in building and giving
the ministry an instance of his great influence. For the plan
of a governor’s house was substituted that of a palace worthy of
the residence of a prince of the blood. The purchase of the
ground and the erection of the foundation absorbed the sum
which the Legislature had been pleased to bestow, which was
an ample appropriation for the completion of the building.”

The -last years of colonial rule, under Gov. Josiah Martin,
were filled with incidents of thrilling and dramatic interest.
A dark cloud of uncertainty and doubt seemed to hang over the
destinies of our country. This period can not be passed over
without reference to an event of such momentous import and
immortal significance as to deserve forever a place upon the
banner of our Commonwealth. I refer to the date, April 12,
1776, and the accompanying resolution:

“Resolved, That the delegates of this colony in the Continental Con-
gress be empowered to concur with the delegates of the other colonies
in declaring independence.”

After a period of nearly two hundred years the flag which
had been planted on the coast of Horth Carolina began to wane,
the unfitness of England to govern her colonies had become
more and more obvious, and amid the commotions and excite-
ment of an indignant nation an American independence was at
last asserted by the people of Mecklenburg. So this dramatic
chapter can be closed with a sentence from J ones’s Memorials of
North Carolina: “It is curious to observe that the annals of a

Permanent Settlement

single State should contribute the two great events in the history
of the present age — the alpha and omega of the dominion of
England over her old North American colonies.7’

COLONIAL MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY.

(Compiled by the North Carolina Historical Commission.)

Borough Members from Wilmington.

1739 (40)4740

William Parris

17424743

William Farris

17444745

William Parris

1746

Thomas Clark

1746 (47)4754

Lewis DeRosset
Cornelius Harnett

17544760

Cornelius Harnett

1760

Cornelius Harnett

1761

Cornelius Harnett

1762 (April)

Cornelius Harnett

1762 (November)

Cornelius Harnett

17644765

Cornelius Harnett

17664768

Cornelius Harnett

1769

Cornelius Harnett

17704771

Cornelius Harnett

1773 (January)

Cornelius Harnett

17734774

Cornelius Harnett

1775

Cornelius Harnett

New Hanover County

Members.

1734

John Swann
Job Howe
Maurice Moore

1736

Maurice Moore
John Swann

17384739

Nathaniel Moore
John Swann

17394740

John Swann
Maurice Moore

17444745

John Swann
George Moore

1746

Samuel Swann
Rufus Marsden
John Swann

17464754

Rufus Marsden
John Swann
John Ashe

17544760

George Moore
John Ashe

1760

George Moore
John Ashe

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

1761

George Moore
John Ashe

1762 (April)

George Moore
John Ashe

1762 (November)

John Ashe

Alexander Lillington

1764-1765

John Ashe
James Moore

1766-1768

John Ashe
James Moore

1769

John Ashe
James Moore

1770-1771

John Ashe
James Moore

1773 (January)

John Ashe
James Moore

1773-1774

John Ashe
William Hooper

1775

John Ashe
William Hooper

PROVINCIAL CONGRESSES.
Borough Members from Wilmington.

Aug.

1774

Francis Clayton

April

1775

Cornelius Harnett

Aug.

1775

Cornelius Harnett
Archibald Maclaine

April

1776

Cornelius Harnett

Nov.

1776

William Hooper

New Hanover County

Members.

Aug.

1774

John Hooper
William Hooper

April

1775

William Hooper
John Ashe

Aug.

1775

George Moore
Alexander Lillington
Samuel Ashe
William Hooper
James Moore
John Ashe

April

1776

John Ashe
John Devane
Samuel Ashe
Sampson Moseley
John Hollingsworth

Nov.

1776

John Ashe

Samuel Ashe
John Devane
Sampson Moseley
John Hollingsworth

Resistance Before the Revolution

THE STAMP ACT ON THE CAPE FEAR.

(Extracts from an address delivered by Capt. S. A. Ashe before the North Carolina
Society of Colonial Dames at Old Brunswick, N. C.)

When the next year [1765] a bill was introduced to carry the
resolution into effect, it met with considerable opposition in the
House of Commons, for the protests of the colonists were not
unheeded. Still, the ministry, under Lord Bute, persisted, and
the measure was carried. All America was at once stirred.
Bold and courageous action was taken in every colony, but in
none was a more resolute spirit manifested than here upon the
Cape Bear. The governor was Try on, who had but lately suc-
ceeded to that office. He was an officer of the army, a gentle-
man by birth and education, a man calculated by his accom-
plishments and social qualities to shine in any community. He
sought the speaker of the House, and asked him what would he
the action of the people. Resistance to the death,” was the
prompt reply. That was a warning that was full of meaning.
It pledged the speaker to revolution and war in defense of the
people’s rights.

The Assembly was to meet in May, 17 65. But Tryon astutely
postponed the meeting until November, and then dissolved the
Assembly. He did not wish the members to meet, confer, con-
sult, and arrange a plan of opposition. He hoped by dealing
with gentlemen, not in an official capacity, to disarm their an-
tagonism and persuade them to a milder course. Vain delu-
sion ! The people had been too long trained to rely with confi-
dence on their leaders to abandon them now, even though Par-
liament demanded their obedience.

The first movement was not long delayed. Within two
months after the news had come that the odious act had been
passed, the people of North Carolina discarded from their use
all clothes of British manufacture and set up looms for weav-
ing their own clothes. Since Great Britain was to oppress
them, they would give the world an assurance of the spirit of
independence that would sustain them in the struggle. In
October information was received that I)r. Houston, of Duplin
County, had been selected in England as stamp master. At

[91]

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

once proceedings were taken to nullify the appointment. At
that time Wilmington had less than 500 white inhabitants, hut
her citizens were very patriotic and very resolute.

Rocky Point, fifteen miles to the northward, had been the
residence of Maurice Moore, Speaker Moseley, Speaker Swann,
Speaker Ashe, Alexander Lillington, John Swann, George
Moore, John Porter, Colonel Jones, Colonel Merrick, and other
gentlemen of influence. It was the center from which had
radiated the influences that directed popular movements.
Rearer to Onslow, Duplin, and Bladen than Wilmington was,
and the residence of the speaker and other active leaders, it was
doubtless there that plans were considered, and proceedings
agreed upon that involved the united action of all the neighbor-
ing counties. At Wilmington and in its vicinity were Harnett,
DeRosset, Toomer, Walker, Clayton, Gregg, Purviance, Eus-
tace, Maclaine, and DuBois, while near by were Howe, Smith,
Davis, Grange, Ancrum, and a score of others of the loftiest
patriotism. All were in full accord with the speaker of the
Assembly; all were nerved by the same spirit; all resolved to
carry resistance, if need be, to the point of blood and death.

We fortunately have a contemporaneous record of some of
their proceedings. The North Carolina Gazette , published at
Wilmington, in its issue of November 20, 1765, says:

On Saturday, the 19th of last month, about 7 o’clock in the evening,
near five hundred people assembled together in this town and exhibited
the effigy of a certain honorable gentleman; and after letting it hang by
the neck for some time, near the courthouse they made a large bonfire
with a number of tar barrels, etc., and committed it to the flames. The
reason assigned for the people’s dislike to that gentleman was from
being informed of his having several times expressed himself much in
favor of the stamp duty. After the effigy was consumed, they went to
every house in town and brought all the gentlemen to the bonfire, and
insisted on their drinking “Liberty, Property, and No Stamp Duty,” and
“Confusion to Lord Bute and All His Adherents,” giving three huzzahs
at the conclusion of each toast. They continued together until 12 of
the clock, and then dispersed without doing any mischief.

Doubtless it was a very orderly crowd, since the editor says
so. A very orderly, harmless, inoffensive gathering; patriotic,
and given to hurrahing ; but we are assured that they dispersed
without any mischief.

And continues the same paper:

On Thursday, the 31st of the same month, in the evening, a great
number of people assembled again, and produced an effigy of Liberty,

Resistance Before the Revolution

which they put in a coffin and marched in solemn procession with it to
the churchyard, a drum in mourning beating before them, and the town
bell, muffled, ringing a doleful knell at the same time; but before they
committed the body to the ground, they thought it advisable to feel its
pulse, and, finding some remains of life, they returned back to a bon-
fire ready prepared, placed the effigy before it in a large two-armed
chair, and concluded the evening with great rejoicings on finding that
Liberty had still an existence in the colonies.

Not the least injury was offered to any person.

The editor of that paper, Mr. Stewart, was apparently anx-
ious to let his readers know that the people engaged in these pro-
ceedings were the very soul of order and the essence of modera-
tion. So far they had done no mischief and offered no injury
to any one. But still they had teeth, and they could show them.
The next item reads:

Saturday, the 16th of this instant, that is November: William Hous-
ton, Esq., distributor of stamps for this province, came to this town;
upon which three or four hundred people immediately gathered to-
gether, with drums beating and colors flying, and repaired to the house
the said stamp master put up at, and insisted upon knowing “Whether
he intended to execute his said office or not.” He told them, “He should
be very sorry to execute any office disagreeable to the people of this
province.” *But they, not content with such declaration, carried him
into the courthouse, where he signed a resignation satisfactory to the
whole. They then placed the stamp master in an armchair, carried him
around the courthouse, giving at every corner three loud huzzahs, and
finally set him down at the door of his lodging, formed a circle around
him, and gave three cheers. They then escorted him into the house,
where were prepared the best liquors, and treated him very genteelly.
In the evening a large bonfire was made and no person appeared on the
streets without having “Liberty” in large letters on his hat. They had
a table near the bonfire well furnished with several sorts of liquors,
where they drank, in great form, all the favorite American toasts, giv-
ing three cheers at the conclusion of each.

“The whole was conducted,” says the editor, “with great
decorum, and not the least insult offered to any person.’7
This enforced resignation of the stamp master was done under

xIt is not to be inferred from Dr. Houston’s action in this matter, in
1765, that he was in favor of taxation of the colonies by Great Britain.
Benjamin Franklin, then the agent of several of the colonies in Lon-
don, assumed, as a matter of course, that the Stamp Act would be oper-
ative, and he recommended some of his friends to accept the office of
stamp master. Dr. Houston did not apply for the appointment, and
when the people arrayed themselves against it, he did not oppose them.
Also, when, ten years later, the Revolution began, he was in full sym-
pathy with other patriots in North Carolina and was a friend of inde-
pendence and separation.

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the direction of Alderman DeRosset, who received from Hous-
ton his commission and other papers, and necessarily it was a
very orderly performance. The ringing huzzas, the patriotic
toasts, the loud acclaim, echoing from the courthouse square,
reverberated through the streets of the town, but Mr. Stewart
is quite sure that no mischief was done, and not the least insult
was offered to any person. These and other similar proceedings
led the Governor to send out a circular letter to the principal in-
habitants of the Cape Fear region, requesting their presence at
a dinner at his residence at Brunswick on Tuesday, the 19th of
November, three days after Dr. Houston resigned ; and after the
dinner, he conferred with these gentlemen about the Stamp Act.
He found them fully determined to annul the act and prevent
its going into effect. He sought to persuade them, and begged
them to let it be observed at least in part. He pleaded that if
they would let the act go into partial operation in the respects he
mentioned, he himself would pay for all the stamps necessary.
It seems that he liked the people, and they liked and admired
him, and difficult indeed was his position. He was charged with
the execution of a law which he knew could not be executed, for
there was not enough specie in the province to buy the necessary
stamps, even if the law could be enforced ; but, then, the people
were resolved against recognizing it in any degree. The au-
thority of the King and of the Parliament was defied, and he,
the representative of the British Government, was powerless in
the face of this resolute defiance. While still maintaining dig-
nity in his intercourse with the people, the Governor wrote to his
superiors in London strongly urging the repeal of the law. A
week later the stamps arrived in the sloop of war Diligence.
They remained on the sloop and were not landed at that time.

Now was there a lull ; but the quietude was not to remain
unbroken. In January two merchant vessels arrived in the
harbor, the Patience and the Dobbs. Their clearance papers
were not stamped as the act required. The vessels were seized
and detained while the lawfulness of their detention was re-
ferred to Attorney General Robert Jones, then absent at his
home on the Roanoke. But the leaders of the people were de-
termined not to submit to an adverse decision. They held
meetings and agreed on a plan of action.

In view of the crisis, on J anuary 20, the mayor of the town
retired to give place to Moses John DeRosset, who had been the
foremost leader in the action previously taken by the town.

Resistance Before the Revolution

One whose spirit never quailed was now to stand forth as the
head of the Corporation.

On the 5th of February, Captain Lobb, in command of the
Viper, had made a requisition for an additional supply of pro-
visions, and Mr. Dry, the contractor, sent his boat to Wilming-
ton to obtain them. The inhabitants, led by the mayor, at once
seized the boat, threw the crew into the jail, and, in a wild
tumult of excitement, placed the boat on a wagon and hauled
it through the streets with great demonstration of fervid patriot-
ism. The British forces on the river were to receive no supplies
from Wilmington ; their provisions were cut off, and they were
treated as enemies — not friends — so long as they supported the
odious law of Parliament. Ten days later came the opinion of
Attorney General J ones to the effect that the detained merchant-
men were properly seized and were liable to he confiscated
under the law. This was the signal for action. The news was
spread throughout the counties, and the whole country was astir.
Every patriot “was on his legs.” There was no halt in carrying
into effect the plan agreed upon. Immediately the people be-
gan to assemble, and detachments, under chosen leaders, took up
their march from Onslow, Bladen, and Duplin. On the 18th
of February, the inhabitants of the Cape Fear counties, being
then assembled at Wilmington, entered into an association,
which they signed, declaring they preferred death to slavery;
and mutually and solemnly they plighted their faith and honor
that they would at any risk whatever, and whenever called upon,
unite, and truly and faithfully assist each other, to the best of
their power, in preventing entirely the operation of the Stamp
Act.

The crisis had now arrived. The hand of destiny had struck
with a bold stroke the resounding bell. The people, nobly re-
sponding, had seized their arms. At all times, when some
patriot is to throw himself to the front and bid defiance to the
established authority of government, there is a Rubicon to be
crossed, and he who unsheathes his sword to resist the law must
win success or meet a traitor’s doom. But the leaders on the
Cape Fear did not hesitate at the thought of personal peril.
At their call, the people, being armed and assembled at Wil-
mington, chose the men who were to guide, govern, and direct
them. They called to the helm John Ashe, the trusted speaker
of the Assembly, and associated with him Alexander Lillington
and Col. Thomas Lloyd, as a Directory to manage their affairs

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

at this momentous crisis. Their movement was not that of an
irresponsible mob. It was an orderly proceeding, pursuant to a
determined plan of action, under the direction of the highest
officer of the province, who was charged with maintaining the
liberties of the people. In effect, it was the institution and
ordaining of a temporary government.

It was resolved to organize an armed force and march to
Brunswick, and Col. Hugh Waddell was invested with the com-
mand of the military. Let us pause a moment and take a view
of the situation at that critical juncture. Close to Brunswick,
in his mansion, was Governor Tryon, the representative of the
King ; no coward he, hut resolute, a military man of experience
and courage. In the town itself were the residences and offices
of Colonel Dry, the collector of the port, and of other officers
of the Crown. Off in the river lay the detained merchant ves-
sels and the two sloops of war, the Viper , commanded by Cap-
tian Lobb, and the Diligence , commanded by Captain Phipps,
whose bristling guns, 26 in number, securely kept them; while
P ort J ohnston, some miles away, well armed with artillery, was
held by a small garrison. At every point flew the meteor flag
of Great Britain. Every point was protected by the aegis of His
Sacred Majesty. For a subject to lift his hand in a hostile
manner against any of these was treason and rebellion. Yes,
treason and rebellion, with the fearful punishment of attainder
and death — of being hanged and quartered.

Well might the eloquent Davis exclaim, “Beware, John Ashe !
Hugh Waddell, take heed!”

Their lives, their fortunes were at hazard and the dishonored
grave was open to receive their dismembered bodies ! But
patriots as they were, they did take care — not for themselves,
but for the liberties of their country. At high noon, on the 19th
day of February, the three directors, the mayor and other offi-
cers of Wilmington, the embodied soldiery, and the prominent
citizens, moved forward, crossed the river, passed like Csesar
the fateful Bubicon, and courageously marched to the scene of
possible conflict. It was not only the Governor with whom they
had to deal, hut the ships of war with their formidable batteries
that held possession of the detained vessels. It was not merely
the penalties of the law that threatened them, hut they courted
death at the cannon’s mouth, in conflict with the heavily armed
sloops of war, from whose power they had come to wrest the
merchantmen. But there was neither halt nor hesitation.

Resistance Before the Revolution

As they crossed the river, a chasm yawned deep and wide,
separating them from their loyal past. Behind them they left
their allegiance as loyal British subjects; before them was re-
bellion— open, flagrant war, leading to revolution. Who could
tell what the ending might be of the anticipated conflict!

There all the gentlemen of the Cape Bear were gathered, in
their cocked hats, their long queues, their knee-breeches, and
shining shoe buckles. Mounted on their well-groomed horses,
they made a famous cavalcade as they wound their way through
the somber pine forests that hedged in the highway to old Bruns-
wick. Among them was DeRosset, the mayor, in the prime of
manhood, of French descent, with keen eye, fine culture, and
high intelligence, who had been a soldier with Innes at the
North; bold and resolved was he as he rode, surrounded by
Cornelius Harnett, Frederick Gregg, John Sampson, and the
other aldermen and officers of the town.

At the head of a thousand armed men, arranged in companies
and marching in order, was the experienced soldier, Hugh Wad-
dell, not yet thirty-three years of age, but already renowned for
his capacity and courage. He had won more distinction and
honors in the late wars at the North and West than any other
Southern soldier, save only George Washington; and now in
command of his companies, officered by men who had been
trained in discipline in the war, he was confident of the issue.
Of Irish descent, and coming of a fighting stock, his blood was
up, and his heroic soul was aflame for the fray.

Surrounded by a bevy of his kinsmen, the venerable Sam and
John Swann; his brothers-in-law, James, George, and Maurice
Moore ; his brother, Sam Ashe, and Alexander Lillington, whose
burly forms towered high above the others; by Howe, Davis,
Colonel Lloyd, and other gallant spirits, was the speaker, John
Ashe, now just forty-five years of age, on whom the responsi-
bility of giving directions chiefly lay. Of medium stature, well
knit, with olive complexion and a lustrous hazel eye, he was
full of nervous energy — an orator of surpassing power, of ele-
gant carriage and commanding presence. Of him Mr. Strud-
wick has said : “That there were not four men in London his

intellectual superior,” and that at a time when Pitt, Fox,
Burke, and others of that splendid galaxy of British orators and
statesmen gave lustre to British annals.

How, on this momentous occasion, the spirits of these men
and of their kinsmen and friends who gathered around, must

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

have soared as they pressed on, resolved to maintain the char-
tered rights of their country ! Animated by the noble impulses
of a lofty patriotism, with their souls elevated by the inspiring
emotions of a perilous struggle for their liberties, they moved
forward with a resolute purpose to sacrifice their lives rather
than tamely submit to the oppressive and odious enactments of
the British Parliament.

It was nightfall before they reached the vicinity of Bruns-
wick, and George Moore and Cornelius Harnett, riding in ad-
vance, presented to Governor Try on a letter from the governing
Directory, notifying him of their purpose. In a few minutes
the Governor’s residence was surrounded, and Captain Lobb
was inquired for, hut he was not there. A party was then dis-
patched towards Fort Johnston, and thereupon Tryon notified
the British naval commanders and requested them to protect the
fort, repelling force with force. In the meantime, a party of
gentlemen called on the collector, Mr. Dry, who had the papers
of the ship Patience; and in his presence broke open his desk
and took them away. This gave an earnest of the resolute pur-
pose of the people. They purposed to use all violence that was
necessary to carry out their designs. Realizing the full import
of the situation, the following noon a conference of the King’s
officers was held on the Viper , and Captain Lobb, confident of
his strength, declared to the Governor that he would hold the
ship Patience and insist on the return of her papers. If the
people were resolved, so were the officers of the government.
The sovereignty of Great Britain was to be enforced. There
was to be no temporizing with the rebels. The honor of the
government demanded that the British flag should not droop in
'the face of this hostile array. But two short hours later a
party of the insurgents came aboard and requested to see Cap-
tain Lobb. They entered the cabin, and there, under the royal
flag, surrounded by the King’s forces, they demanded that all
efforts to enforce the Stamp Act cease. They would allow no
opposition. In the presence of Ashe, Waddell, DeRosset, Har-
nett, Moore, Howe, and Lillington, the spirit of Captain Lobb
quailed. The people won. In the evening the British com-
mander, much to the Governor’s disgust, reported to that func-
tionary that “all was settled.” Yes. All had been settled.
The vessels were released ; the grievances were redressed. The
restrictions on the commerce of the Cape Fear were removed.
The attempt to enforce the Stamp Act had failed before the

Resistance Before the Revolution

prompt, vigorous, and courageous action of the inhabitants.
After that, vessels could come and go as if there had been no act
of Parliament. The people had been victorious over the King’s
ships ; with arms in their hands, they had won the victory.

But the work was not all finished. There, on the Diligence ,
were obnoxious stamps, and by chance some loyal officer of the
government might use them. To guard against that, the officers
were to he forced to swear not to obey the act of Parliament,
but to observe the will of the people. Mr. Pennington was His
Majesty’s controller, and, understanding that the people sought
him, he took refuge in the Governor’s mansion and was given
a bed and made easy, but early the next morning Col. James
Moore called to get him. The Governor interfered to prevent;
and immediately the mansion was surrounded by the insurgent
troops, and the Directory notified the Governor, in writing,
that they requested His Excellency to let Mr. Pennington ap-
pear, otherwise it would not be “in the power of the directors
appointed to prevent the ill consequences that would attend a
refusal.” In plain language, said John Ashe, “Persist in your
refusal, and we will come and take him.” The Governor de-
clined to comply. In a few moments he observed a body of
nearly five hundred men move towards his house. A detach-
ment of sixty entered his avenue. Cornelius Harnett accom-
panied them and sent word that he wished to speak with Mr.
Pennington. The Governor replied that Mr. Pennington was
protected by his house. Harnett thereupon notified the Gov-
ernor that the people would come in and take him out of the
house, if longer detained. How the point was reached. The
people were ready; the Governor was firm. But Pennington
wisely suggested that he would resign, and immediately wrote
his resignation and delivered it to the Governor — and then he
went out with Harnett and was brought here to Brunswick, and
required to take an oath never to issue any stamped paper in
North Carolina; so was Mr. Dry, the collector; and so all the
clerks of the County Courts, and other public officers. Every
officer in all that region, except alone the Governor, was forced
to obey the will of the people and swear not to obey the act of
Parliament.

On the third day after the first assemblage at Wilmington,
on the 18th, the directors, having completed their work at
Brunswick, took up the line of march to return. With what
rejoicing they turned their hacks on the scene of their blood-

100

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

less triumph. It had been a time of intense excitement. It had
been no easy task to hold more than a thousand hot and zealous
patriots well in hand, and to accomplish their purposes without
bloodshed. Wisdom and courage by the directors, and prudence,
foresight, and sagacity on the part of the military officers were
alike essential to the consummation of their design. They now
returned in triumph, their purposes accomplished. The odious
law was annulled in North Carolina. After that, merchant ves-
sels passed freely in and out of port, without interference. The
stamps remained boxed on shipboard, and no further effort was
made to enforce a law which the people had rejected.

Two months after these events on the Cape Fear, Parliament
repealed the law, and the news v/as hurried across the Atlantic
in the fleetest vessels. The victory of the people was complete.
They had annulled an act of Parliament, crushed their enemies,
and preserved their liberties. Thus once more were the cour-
ageous leaders of the Cape Fear, in their measures of opposition
to encroachments on the rights of the people, sustained by the
result. On former occasions they had triumphed over their
governors: now, in cooperation with other provinces, they had
triumphed over the British Ministry and the Parliament of
Great Britain.

While in every other province the people resolutely opposed
the Stamp Act, nowhere else in America was there a proceeding
similar to that which was taken at Wilmington. Nowhere else
was the standard of Liberty committed to the care of a govern-
ing hoard, even though its creation was for a temporary pur-
pose; nowhere else was there an army organized, under officers
appointed, and led to a field where a battle might have ensued.
Had not His Majesty’s forces yielded to the will of the insur-
gents, the American Revolution would probably have begun
then — and here — on the soil of Old Brunswick.

WILLIAM HOUSTON, THE STAMP AGENT—
ANOTHER VIEWPOINT.

(Extracts from an address delivered by Mr. J. O. Carr before the North Carolina
Society of Colonial Dames of America, at Old Brunswick, May 5, 1915.)

One hundred and fifty years have elapsed since the Houston
episode, and it is not too early to begin to do justice to the vic-
tim; nor will it detract from the heroism of the patriots of 1765,
who were inspired by a righteous indignation against every
form of oppression.

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101

By a careful, discriminating reading of all the subject-matter
at our command, it will be easily seen that the indignation of
the people of 1765 was not directed against Houston, nor
against any conduct of bis, but against the principle of the
British stamp tax.

In order to get a comprehensive view of Houston as a man it
is necessary to consider him before 1765 and after 1765.

Houston Before 1765.

William Houston did not live in Wilmington nor in Bruns-
wick, but resided in Duplin County on the Northeast Biver,
about sixty miles north of Wilmington, in a direct line. He
was an associate of Henry McCulloch in bis attempt to colonize
North Carolina, and was one of the original settlers who came
to this community some time between 1737 and 1748. This
locality was then a part of the county of New Hanover.

Houston was a man of unusual ability and was known as an
“honorable gentleman.” By profession be was a surgeon and
apothecary. A tradition, too well founded in the community
in which be lived to be seriously disputed, at least forms the
basis for a well-established belief that royal blood flowed in bis
veins. The General Assembly of 1749 and 1750 established
the county of Duplin and St. Gabriel’s parish, and William
Houston was named as a member of the vestry of that parish.
From 1751 to 1761, inclusive, be was a member of the General
Assembly from Duplin County, and following that date was a
justice of the peace, along with other leading citizens of bis
county; and in those days the office of justice of the peace was
a position of considerable importance.

When be was appointed stamp agent for the port of Bruns-
wick, be was residing on his farm in Duplin County, on a high
elevation on the Northeast River, at a place known as “So-
racte” — so called, no doubt, from the mountain by that name in
Italy on which was built the ancient Temple of Apollo.

On the 19th of October, 1765, after he had been appointed
stamp agent and notice of such appointment had reached Bruns^
wick direct from England, Houston was hanged in effigy in the
town of Wilmington, the only reason given for such action be-
ing that the several hundred citizens who participated were “in-
formed of his having several times expressed himself much in
favor of the stamp duty” — and it is possible that he honestly

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

favored such a tax, but there is no evidence that he favored it
without the people’s consent.

Again, on the 31st of October, 1765, a large number of people
met in Wilmington and placed an effigy in a coffin and moved
under the beat of drums to the churchyard — no doubt St.
James’s Church — where the interment was to take place; hut
after feeling its pulse, decided that Liberty still survived, and
no burial took place. Also, Dr. Houston was hanged in effigy
at Hew Bern and at Fayetteville about the same time.

During all of these exhibitions of patriotism, Dr. Houston
was pursuing his duties as surgeon and apothecary at “Soracte,”
now known as “Sarecta,” and he afterwards protested that he
had not solicited and did not even know of his appointment as
stamp agent at the time of such demonstrations. It was not
until Saturday, the 16th day of November, nearly a month after
his first hanging and demise, that Dr. Houston came to town,
where three hundred people, with drums heating and flags fly-
ing, proceeded to his lodging-place and inquired whether he in-
tended to execute the office of stamp agent. Without hesitation
he informed them that he “should he sorry to execute any office
disagreeable to the people of the province” ; and as an exhibition
of good faith voluntarily signed the famous promise, which was
done of his own free will and accord; and he was not even re-
quired to take an oath, as has been generally believed. If this
promise had been signed under force or duress, he would hardly
have been given an ovation ; but after he had indicated his senti-
ments on this matter there was a love feast and he was put in
an armchair and carried around the courthouse and around one
of the chief squares of the city of Wilmington and finally put
down at his lodging-place.

A careful and discriminating reading of the entire story must
convince the thinking man that instead of a riot and a lynching
in the city when Dr. Houston came to town, there was something
in the nature of a banquet in his honor, on the discovery by the
people that the sentiments of the man selected by the Crown to
sell stamps were in harmony with theirs; and no doubt Dr.
Houston enjoyed the eats and drinks as much as any one, though
the drought in those days around “Soracte” was doubtless not as
marked as it is today.

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103

Houston Aftee 1765.

The episode in Wilmington did not in any way affect the
standing of Dr. Houston in his own county, where he was
highly honored and respected by his fellow-citizens. In 1768
he was appointed a justice of the peace in Duplin County, and
likewise again in 1771. In 1777 he was chairman of the “Court
Martial” in Duplin County, whose duties were to hunt down
Tories and deserters and to bring to justice Americans who were
not faithful to our cause; and together with James Kenan and
Joseph Dickson, whose names were synonymous with patriotism
in that community, he acted in this capacity, and as chairman
of the commission. He continued to serve his county in public
positions, and as late as 1784 was appointed a justice of the
peace by Alexander Martin, in which capacity he served for
some time thereafter. The time of his death or the place of his
burial can not be stated with certainty, but it is thought that he
was buried in the community in which he lived.1 His descend-
ants to this day have exhibited the same elements of brilliancy
and patriotism seen in Dr. Houston.

RUSSELLBOROUGH — SCENE OE FIRST ARMED
RESISTANCE.

About half a mile to the south of Orton House, and within
the boundary of the plantation, are the ruins of Governor Try-
on’s residence, memorable in the history of the United States as
the spot upon which the first overt act of violence occurred in
the War of American Independence, nearly eight years before
the Boston Tea Party, of which so much has been made in
Northern history, while this colonial ruin, the veritable cradle
of American liberty, is probably unknown to nine-tenths of the
people of the Cape Eear at the present day.

This place, which has been eloquently referred to by two of
the most distinguished sons of the Cape Eear, both direct de-

1Since the preparation of the above paper, I have found the following
memorandum among my historical data: “William Houston in after

life moved from Duplin County to Tennessee and then, it is said, to
Texas. He had a number of sons, the youngest of whom was Samuel
Houston, who spent his life in Duplin County and was the father of
the late Capt. William J. Houston, Mrs. George W. Carroll, Mrs. J. N.
Stallings, and Mrs. Oates.” This information was furnished me by the
family of Mrs. George W. Carroll. J. O. Care.

104 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

scendants of Sir John Yeamans, the late Hon. George Davis
and the late Hon. A. M. Waddell, and which was known as Rus-
sellborough, was bought from William Moore, son and successor
of “King” Roger, by Capt. John Russell, commander of His
Britannic Majesty’s sloop of war Scorpion , who gave the tract of
about fifty-five acres his own name. It subsequently passed into
the possession of his widow, who made a deed of trust, and the
property ultimately again became a part of Orton Plantation.
It was sold March 31, 1758, by the executors of the estate of
William Moore to the British governor and commander-in-chief,
Arthur Dobbs, who occupied it and who sold it or gave it to his
son, Edward Bryce Dobbs, captain of His Majesty’s Seventh
Regiment of Foot or Royal Eusileers, who conveyed it by deed,
dated February 12, 1767, to His Excellency, William Tryon,
governor, etc. It appears, however, that Governor Tryon occu-
pied this residence prior to the date of this deed, as is shown by
the following official correspondence in 1766 with reference to
the uprising of the Cape Fear people in opposition to the Stamp
Act :

Brunswick, 19 February, 1766,

Eleven at Night.

Sir: — Between the hours of six and seven o’clock this evening, Mr.
Geo. Moore and Mr. Cornelius Harnett waited on me at my house, and
delivered me a letter signed by three gentlemen. The inclosed is a copy
of the original. I told Mr. Moore and Mr. Harnett that I had no fears
or apprehensions for my person or property, I wanted no guard, there-
fore desired the gentlemen might not come to give their protection
where it was not necessary or required, and that I would send the gen-
tlemen an answer in writing tomorrow morning. Mr. Moore and Mr.
Harnett might stay about five or six minutes in my house. Instantly
after their leaving me, I found my house surrounded with armed men
to the number, I estimate, at one hundred and fifty. I had some alter-
cation with some of the gentlemen, who informed me their business was
to see Captain Lobb, whom they were informed was at my house; Cap-
tain Paine then desired me to give my word and honor whether Captain
Lobb was in my house or not. I positively refused to make any such
declaration, but as they had force in their hands I said they might
break open my locks and force my doors. This, they declared, they had
no intention of doing; just after this and other discourse, they got in-
telligence that Captain Lobb was not in my house. The majority of the
men in arms then went to the town of Brunswick, and left a number of
men to watch the. avenues of my house, therefore think it doubtful if I
can get this letter safely conveyed. I esteem it my duty, sir, to inform
you, as Fort Johnston has but one officer and five men in garrison, the
fort will stand in need of all the assistance the Viper and Diligence

Resistance Before the Revolution

105

sloops can give the commanding officer there, should any insult be
offered to His Majesty’s fort or stores, in which case it is my duty to
request of you to repel force with force, and take on board His Majesty’s
sloops so much of His Majesty’s ordnance stores and ammunition out
of the said fort as you shall think necessary for the benefit of the
service.

I am, your most humble servant, Wm. Teyon.

To the Commanding Officer, either of the Viper or Diligence sloops
of war.

The writer, who has made his home at Orton, had often in-
quired for the precise location of the ruins of Governor Try on’s
Russellborough residence without success ; but about fifteen years
ago, acting upon Colonel Waddell’s reference to its site on the
north of Old Brunswick, the service of an aged negro who had
lived continuously on the plantation for over seventy years was
engaged. He, being questioned, could not remember ever having
heard the name Russellhorough, nor of Governor Dobbs, nor of
Governor Try on, nor of an avenue of trees in the locality de-
scribed. He said he remembered, however, hearing when he was
a hoy about a man named “Governor Palace,” who lived in a
great house between Orton and Old Brunswick.

We proceeded at once to the spot, which is approached through
an old field, still known as “Old Palace Field,” on the other side
of which, on a bluff facing the east and affording a fine view of
the river, we found hidden in a dense undergrowth of timber
the foundation walls of Tryon’s residence. The aged guide
showed us the well-worn carriage road of the Governor, and also
his private path through the old garden to the river landing, a
short distance below, on the south of which is a beautiful cove
of white and shining sand, known, he said, in olden times, as
the Governor’s Cove. The stone foundation walls of the house
are about two feet above the surface of the ground. Some sixty
years ago the walls stood from twelve to fifteen feet high, hut
the material was unfortunately used by one of the proprietors
for building purposes.

The old servant pointed out a large pine tree near by, upon
which he said had been carved in colonial times the names of
two distinguished persons buried beneath it, and which in his
youthful days was regarded with much curiosity by visitors.
The rude inscription has unhappily become almost obliterated
by several growths of hark, and the strange mysterious record
is forever hidden by the hand of time.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

A careful excavation of this ruin would doubtless reveal some
interesting and possibly valuable relics of Governor Tryon’s
household. Near the surface was found, while these lines were
being written, some fragments of blue Dutch tiling, doubtless a
part of the interior decorations; also a number of peculiarly
shaped bottles for the favorite sack of those days, which F alstaff
called sherris sack, of Xeres vintage, now known as dry sherry.

In recent years the site of Governor Tryon’s palace upon this
spot has been marked by a substantial monument built of bricks
and stones taken from the foundation of the building and suit-
ably inscribed by the North Carolina Society of Colonial Dames
of America.

SONS OF LIBEETY IN NORTH CAROLINA.1

South Carolina Gazette , July 5, 1770.

We hear that in consequence of a letter lately addressed to the
Sons of Liberty in North Carolina, under cover to Col. James
Moore, a meeting had been appointed, and held on the 2d of last
month, where a number of gentlemen from the several southern
counties in that province were chosen as a committee to meet at
Wilmington on this day, to consult upon such measures as may
appear most eligible for evincing their patriotism and loyalty
in the present critical situation of affairs ; which committee are,
Col. James Lloyd, Cornelius Harnett, Frederick Gregg, Wil-
liam Campbell, Esq., Messrs. John Robeson and William Wil-
kinson, for the town of Wilmington; George Moore, Frederick
Jones, Esq., Col. James Moore, Messrs. Samuel Ashe and James
Moran, for New Hanover County; Richard Quince, sr., Richard
Quince, jr., Esqrs., and Mr. John Wilkinson, for the town of
Brunswick; John and William Davis, Esqrs., Messrs Samuel
Watters, Thomas Davis, and Samuel Neale, for Brunswick
County; Messrs. John and George Gibbs, and John Grange, jr.,
for Bladen County; Col. James Sampson and Felix Kenan,
Esq., for Duplin County; William Cray, Henry Roads, and
Richard Ward, Esqrs., for Onslow County; and Walter Gibson,
Farquhar Campbell, and Robert Rowan, Esqrs., for Cumber-
land County.

lrThe Sons of Liberty were originally formed in the fall of 1765.

Resistance Before the Revolution

107

South Carolina Gazette , July 26, 1770.

We are informed that on the 22d of last month the Virginians
extended their Economical Plan and Non-Importation Agree-
ment, agreeable to those of this province, and that some General
Resolutions were to he framed last week by the inhabitants of
North Carolina, to manifest their unanimity with the rest of
the colonies.

South Carolina Gazette, August 9, 1770.

(Wilmington, Cape Fear), July 11.

At a meeting of the General Committee of the Sons of Lib-
erty upon Cape Fear, in Wilmington, the 5th day of July, Cor-
nelius Harnett, Esq., was chosen chairman, and the following
resolution unanimously agreed on, viz. :

I. Resolved, That the following answer to the letter received from the
Sons of Liberty in South Carolina, of the 25th of April last, be signed
by the chairman and sent by the first conveyance.

To the Sons of Liberty in South Carolina: —

Gentlemen: —

Your favour of the 25th of April last was laid before the Sons of Lib-
erty upon the Cape Fear, at a general meeting in this town, on the
second of last month, and received with the highest satisfaction.

We have the pleasure to inform you that many of the principal in-
habitants of six large and populous counties attended, when it was
unanimously agreed to keep strictly to the Non-Importation Agreement
entered into last fall, and to cooperate with our sister colonies in every
legal measure for obtaining ample redress of the grievance so justly
complained of.

Happy should we have thought ourselves if our merchants in general
would have followed the disinterested and patriotic example of their
brethren in the other colonies; we hope, however, their own interest
will convince them of the necessity of importing such articles, and such
only, as the planters will purchase.

We should have done ourselves the pleasure of answering your letter
much sooner, but the gentlemen of the committee living at such a dis-
tance from each other prevented it.

We beg to assure you that the inhabitants of those six counties, and
we doubt not of every county in this colony, are convinced of the neces-
sity of adhering strictly to their former resolution, and you may de-
pend they are as tenacious of their just rights as any of their brethren
on the continent and firmly resolved to stand or fall with them in sup-
port of the common cause of American liberty.

Worthless men, as you very justly observe, are the production of
every country, and we are also so unhappy as to have a few among us
“who have not virtue enough to resist the allurement of present gain.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Yet we can venture to assert, that the people in general of this colony
will be spirited and steady in their support of their rights as English
subjects, and will not tamely submit to the yoke of oppression — “But,
if by the iron hand of power,” they are at last crushed, it is their fixed
resolution either to fall with the same dignity and spirit you so justly
mention or transmit to their posterity, entire, the inestimable blessing
of our free constitution.

The disinterested and public-spirited behaviour of the merchants and
other inhabitants of your colony justly merits the applause of every
lover of liberty on the continent. The people of any colony who have
not virtue enough to follow so glorious examples must be lost to every
sense of freedom and consequently deserve to be slaves. We are,

With great truth, gentlemen,

Your affectionate countrymen,

Cornelius Harnett, Chairman.

Signed by order of the General Committee.

Wilmington, Cape Fear, July 5, 1770.

II. Resolved, That we will strictly and inviolably adhere to the Non-
importation Agreement entered into on the 30th day of September last
until the grievances therein mentioned are redressed.

III. Resolved, That we will not on any pretense whatever, have any
dealings or connexion with the inhabitants of the colony of Rhode
Island, who contrary to their solemn and voluntary contract have vio-
lated their faith pledged to the other colonies and thereby shamefully
deserted the common cause of American liberty; and if any of their
vessels or merchants shall arrive in Cape Fear River with intention to
trade, we will to the utmost of our power, by all legal ways and means,
prevent any person buying from, or selling to them, any goods or com-
modities whatever, unless they give full satisfaction to the colonies for
their base and unworthy conduct.

IV. Resolved, That the merchants of Newport, Rhode Island, and all
others on the continent of North America, who will not comply with
the Non-Importation Agreement, are declared enemies to their country,
and ought to be treated in the most contemptuous manner.

V. Resolved, That we will not purchase any kind of goods or mer-
chandise whatever, from any merchants or other person who shall im-
port or purchase goods for sale contrary to the spirit and intention of
the said Agreement, unless such goods be immediately re-shipped to
the place they were imported from or stored under the inspection and
direction of the committee.

VI. Resolved, That the members of the committee for the several
counties in the Wilmington district, and particularly those for the
towns of Wilmington and Brunswick, do carefully inspect all importa-
tions of goods, and if any shall be imported contrary to the true intent
and meaning of the said Non-Importation Agreement, that they give
public notice thereof in the Cape Fear Mercury, with the names of such
importers or purchasers.

VII. Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be immediately trans-
mitted to all the trading towns in this colony. The Committee of the

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109

Sons of Liberty upon Cape Fear, appointed for the town of Wilmington
to inspect into all goods imported, take this opportunity to inform the
public that Mr. Arthur Benning, of Duplin County, hath imported in
the sloop Lancashire Witch from Virginia a small assortment of goods,
several articles of which are not allowed by the Non-Importation Agree-
ment. But it appears at the same time to the committee those goods
were expected to arrive before the 1st. of January last, having been
ordered by Mr. Benning some time in July last. His correspondent
sent them to Virginia, where they have lain a considerable time since.

We have the pleasure to inform the public, that Richard Quince, Esq ,
a member of the General Committee and who may with great propriety
be deemed a principal merchant, hath joined heartily in the Non-Impor-
tation Agreement. It will, no doubt, be looked upon as a very great
misfortune to this country that some merchants and others seem re-
solved not to follow so disinterested an example, but, on the contrary,
are daily purchasing wines and many other articles contrary to the
said Agreement. Should those gentlemen still persist in a practice so
destructive in its tendencies to the liberties of the people of this colony,
they must not be surprised if hereafter the names of the importers and
purchasers should be published in the Gape Fear Mercury. This is in-
tended to serve as a friendly admonition, and, it is hoped, will be
received as such and have its due effect.

The Revolution

THE INSTITUTION OE THE REVOLUTIONARY
GOVERNMENT.

On July 21, 1774, there was an important meeting of the in-
habitants of the Wilmington district held at Wilmington.

It being understood that the Governor had determined that
the Legislature should not meet, this meeting was called to take
steps for the election of delegates to a Revolutionary Conven-
tion.

William Hooper presided; and Col. James Moore, John
Ancrum, Fred Jones, Samuel Ashe, Robert Howe, Robert Hogg,
Francis Clayton, and Archibald Maclaine were appointed a
committee to prepare a circular letter to the several counties of
the province, requesting them to elect delegates to represent
them in the convention.

This was the first movement to provide for a Revolutionary
Government, and the delegates elected were the first elected by
the people in any province in right of the sovereignty of the
people. It was at this same meeting that the cry, “The Cause
of Boston is the Cause of All/7 arose. Money and a shipload of
provisions were at once subscribed for the suffering people of
Boston, and Parker Quince offered his vessel to carry the pro-
visions and himself went to deliver them.

In response to the letter sent out by the committee, delegates
were chosen in every county except five. The convention met at
New Bern on August 25, 1774, and a Revolutionary Govern-
ment was instituted.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE OE SAFETY.

(Extracts from the Proceedings of the Committee of Safety of New Hanover County.)

Wilmington, November 23, 1774.

At a meeting of the Freeholders in the courthouse at Wil-
mington for the purpose of choosing a Committee of said town
to carry more effectually into execution the resolves of the late
Congress held at Philadelphia, the following names were pro-
posed and universally assented :

[HO]

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111

Cornelius Harnett, John Quince, Francis Clayton, William
Hooper, Robert Hogg, Archibald Maclaine, John Robinson,
James Walker.

Wednesday, January 4, 1775.

The Committee met at the courthouse. Present, Cornelius
Harnett, Archibald Maclaine, John Ancrum, William Hooper,
and John Robinson.

At the same time the Freeholders of Hew Hanover County
assembled to choose a committee for the county to join and co-
operate with the committee of the town, which the members
present agreed to. Then the Freeholders present, having Cor-
nelius Harnett in the chair, unanimously chose George Moore,
John Ashe, Samuel Ashe, James Moore, Frederick Jones, Alex-
ander Lillington, Sampson Moseley, Samuel Swann, George
Merrick, Esquires, and Messrs. John Hollingsworth, Samuel
Collier, Samuel Marshall, William Jones, Thomas Bloodworth,
James Wright, John Larkins, Joel Parrish, John Devane, Tim-
othy Bloodworth, Thomas Devane, John Marshall, John Calvin,
Bishop Dudley, and William Robeson, Esquires, a committee to
join the committee of Wilmington.

Monday, March 6, 1775.

The Committee met according to adjournment.

The following Association was agreed on by the Committee
and annexed to the resolves of the General Congress, to be
handed to every person in this county and recommended to the
Committees of the adjacent counties, that those who acceded to
the said resolves, may subscribe their names thereto.

We, the subscribers, in testimony of our sincere approbation
of the proceedings of the late Continental Congress, to the an-
nexed have hereto set our hands, and we do most solemnly
engage by the most sacred ties of honor, virtue, and love of our
country, that we will ourselves strictly observe every part of the
Association recommended by the Continental Congress.

Mr. James Kenan, chairman of the Duplin Committee, pur-
suant to a letter from this committee at its last meeting attended.

Resolved, That all the members of the committee now present
go in a body and wait on all housekeepers in town with the
Association before mentioned and request their signing it, or
declare their reasons for refusing, that such enemies to their
country may be set forth to public view and treated with the
contempt they merit.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee that all
dances, private as well as public, are contrary to the spirit of
the eighth article' in the Association of the Continental Con-
gress, and as such they ought to be discouraged, and that all
persons concerned in any dances for the future should he prop-
erly stigmatized.

Mr. Harnett desired the opinion of the Committee respecting
a negro fellow he bought in Rhode Island (a native of that
place) in the month of October last, whom he designed to have
brought with him to this province, hut the said negro ran away
at the time of his sailing from Rhode Island. The question was
put whether Mr. Harnett may import said negro from Rhode
Island.

Resolved unanimously, That Mr. Harnett may import the
said negro from Rhode Island.

Tuesday, March 7, 1775.

Resolved, That three members of this committee attend the
meeting of the Committee at Duplin on the 18th instant. Mr.
Samuel Ashe, Mr. Sampson Moseley, and Mr. Timothy Blood-
worth were accordingly nominated to attend the said Com-
mittee.

WHIGS AND TORIES.

On the last day of May, 1775, Josiah Martin, the royal gov-
ernor of North Carolina, locked his palace at New Bern and
fled to Fort Johnston, arriving there on June 2. Two weeks
later he issued his proclamation warning the people to desist
from their revolutionary proceedings. As if in answer, on June

19, the inhabitants of New Hanover, having assembled, united
in an association “to sacrifice our lives and fortunes to secure
the freedom and safety of our country.” The next day, June

20, the committeemen of Duplin, Bladen, Onslow, Brunswick,
and New Hanover met at Wilmington and adopted the New
Hanover Association, which was also signed, later, in Cumber-
land. Three weeks elapsed, and then the people of the Lower
Cape Fear, having determined to dislodge the garrison of the
fort, on the 18th of July seized and burnt the fort, the Governor
and his soldiers taking refuge on the vessels.

Knowing that there was a large number of loyal adherents in
the interior, Governor Martin devised a plan by which a strong

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British force was to be sent from England to the Cape Fear,
where they would he joined by the Loyalists from the upper
counties and the province would he subjugated. Accordingly,
when the time approached for the British fleet to arrive, the
Loyalists began to embody, the first movement being on Feb-
ruary 5, with instructions to concentrate at Campbellton. As
quickly as this action was known, the news was hurried to Wil-
mington and other points throughout the province. The mes-
sengers reached Wilmington on the 9th with the startling in-
telligence, and the greatest excitement prevailed.

For eighty hours, night and day, there was severe, unremit-
ting service, making preparation for defense. Companies of
troops rushed in from Onslow, Duplin, and Brunswick, the
whole country being aroused. Colonel Moore with his Conti-
nentals, Colonel Lillington with his corps of minute men, Col-
onel Ashe with his Independents, hurried to the vicinity of
Campbellton to arrest the progress of the Loyalists, while Col-
onel Purviance, in command of the Hew Hanover Militia, re-
mained at Wilmington, throwing up breastworks, mounting
swivels, and constructing fire-rafts to drive off the British ves-
sels should they attempt to seize the town. The sloop of war
Cruizer did ascend the river, hut, avoiding Wilmington, tried
to pass up the Clarendon, or Brunswick, Biver. She was, how-
ever, driven back by riflemen who lined the banks.

The Battle of Moore’s Creek1 followed on February 27, and
the plan of the Governor was defeated. All during March and
April British vessels came into the harbor, but the grand fleet
hearing the troops from England, being detained by storms, did
not arrive until the end of April, when there were more than a
hundred ships in the river. The plan of the Governor having
failed, towards the end of May the fleet sailed, expecting to take
possession of Charleston, leaving only a few ships in the river.
Later, these likewise were withdrawn, and for nearly five years
the people of Wilmington were left undisturbed.

*A monument commemorating this well-known battle was erected by
the citizens of Wilmington and its vicinity in 1857. Falling into decay,
in 1907 it was repaired by the Moore’s Creek Monument Association,
aided by an appropriation of the United States Congress secured by
Representative Charles R. Thomas, then representing the Third Con-
gressional District of North Carolina.

At the same time and at the same place a monument was erected to
the brave women of the Revolution, on one side of which appears the
name of Mary Slocumb, who, it is said, rode sixty-five miles alone at
night to care for her husband and other patriot soldiers engaged in the
Battle of Moore’s Creek.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

At length, South Carolina being subjugated, Lord Cornwallis
proposed to enter North Carolina, and as a part of his opera-
tions, on the 28th of January, 1781, Maj. Janies H. Craig took
possession of Wilmington. His force consisted of eighteen ves-
sels, carrying a full supply of provisions and munitions, and
400 regular troops, artillery, and dragoons. At that time
Brunswick was entirely deserted, and Wilmington contained
hut 200 houses and only 1,000 inhabitants. The entire Cape
Fear region was defenseless. The losses of the Cape Fear coun-
ties at Camden and in other battles at the South had been heavy,
while many of the militia and the whole Continental Line had
been surrendered by Lincoln at Charleston. Thus the Whig
strength had been greatly weakened, while there were in the
country hut few guns and no powder and lead. On the other
hand, the Loyalists had been strengthened by accessions from
those who wearied of the war.

Major Craig at once dispatched detachments to scour the
country, seize prominent Whigs, collect forage, and arouse the
Loyalists, who in some counties largely outnumbered the Whigs.
After the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis retreated
to Wilmington, his army arriving there on the 7th of April.
In the closing days of April, when he had repaired his damage
as well as he could, he marched through the eastern counties to
Virginia, leaving the subjugation of North Carolina to Major
Craig.

Large bodies of Loyalists, well supplied by the British with
arms and ammunition and too strong to be successfully resisted,
now marched at will throughout the Upper Cape Fear, sup-
pressing the Whigs and taking many prisoners, confining them
in prison ships or in Craig’s “bull-pen” on shore.

After Cornwallis had passed on to Virginia, General Lilling-
ton returned to his former position at Heron Bridge, over the
Northeast; hut in June he was forced to retire into Onslow
County, and Craig established an outpost at Butherford Mills,
on Ashe’s Creek, seven miles east of Burgaw, where he con-
structed a bastion fort. In the meantime Craig had been active
in organizing the Loyalists, and issued a proclamation notify-
ing the inhabitants that they were all British subjects and must
enroll themselves as Loyalist Militia, and those who did not do
so by the first day of August were to he harried, their property
seized and sold, and themselves destroyed. On the last day of
grace Craig began a march through the eastern counties, his

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115

loyal lieutenants being very vigorous in the counties on the
Northwest and the Haw and the Deep Rivers. When he reached
Rock Creek, two miles east of Wallace, he found Colonel Kenan
with some 500 militia ready to contest his passage, but Kenan’s
ammunition was soon exhausted and the British successfully
crossed and dispersed the militia. For ten days Craig remained
in Duplin and harried the Whigs, and then, after being joined
by 300 Loyalists, he moved towards New Bern. Lillington was
at Limestone Bridge, but hurried on the road to the Trent to
keep in Craig’s front. He had about 600 men, but only three
rounds of ammunition, and had been directed not to hazard a
battle. On the 17th of August General Caswell reported to the
Governor: “General Lillington is between New Bern and the
enemy, and I am fearful will risk an action. I have done every-
thing I can to prevent it, and have let him have a sight of Your
Excellency’s letter, wherein you mention that no general action
must take place.” Craig entered New Bern, and then marched
towards Kinston, but turned south and went to Richlands, and,
after obtaining a supply of forage, returned to Wilmington.
At the east, the Whigs now rallied everywhere, those in Duplin,
having suffered greatly, being thoroughly exasperated. They
surprised a body of Tories, “cut many of them to pieces, took
several and put them to instant death.” The retaliation on each
side was fierce and ferocious, until at length the Tories sub-
sided. But in Bladen and higher up the Tory detachments, each
numbering several hundred, held the country and drove the
Whigs out. However, on August 28, Colonel Brown, with about
150 Bladen men, won a complete victory at Elizabethtown and
broke the Tory power in Bladen. But a fortnight later, Fan-
ning, whose force numbered 1,000 men, took Hillsboro, cap-
tured the Governor, and fought the Battle of Cane Creek.

It was not until October that General Rutherford was able to
collect enough men to march to the relief of Wilmington. Early
in November he reached the Northeast, ten miles above the
town, and established himself there, hemming Craig in. But
now momentous events happening at Yorktown had their effect
on the Cape Fear. On the 17th of November, Light-Horse
Harry Lee (the father of Gen. Robert E. Lee) arrived at Ruth-
erford’s camp, bringing the glad news of the surrender of Corn-
wallis. Immediately the whole camp united in a feu de foie ,
and then Rutherford crossed the river and took post at Schaw’s,
four miles from the town. On the following morning, Novem-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ber 18, Major Craig and his troops boarded his ships and took
their departure, and although the Tory bands continued to wage
a relentless and murderous warfare on the Haw and the Deep,
Wilmington thereafter enjoyed quiet and repose.

THE BATTLE OF ELIZABETHTOWN.

(The Wilmington Weekly Chronicle, February, 1844.)

One of the most daring and successful onsets upon Tories by
the Whigs during the Revolutionary War was at Elizabethtown,
in the county of Bladen, of this State. No notice of the battle
was found in any history of that period. We understood that
there was an imperfect relation of it published in a Federal
paper twenty-five or thirty years ago. That a memorial to so
gallant an act might be revived and placed within reach of some
future historian, we addressed a letter to a distinguished gentle-
man of Bladen, desiring such information in regard to the
affair as he should possess or be able to collect. The annexed
letter from him furnishes a very satisfactory account of the in-
formation sought for, and will doubtless be perused by every
North Carolinian with much interest. Our respected corre-
spondent, probably through inadvertence, omitted to put down
the date of the battle. It was 1781, and, as near as we can
ascertain, in the month of July.

» * -»-v ^ Bladen County, Feb. 21st, 1844.

A. A. Brown, Esq.,

Editor of the Wilmington WeeTdy Chronicle.

Hear Sir: — Yours of the 3d inst. was received, soliciting
such information as I possess or may be able to collect respect-
ing the battle fought at Elizabethtown during our Revolutionary
struggle between the Whigs and Tories. I have often regretted
that the actions and skirmishes which occurred in this and New
Hanover County should have been overlooked by historians.
The Battle of Elizabethtown deserves a place in history and
ought to be recollected by every true-hearted North Carolinian
with pride and pleasure. Here sixty men, driven from their
homes, their estates ravaged and houses plundered, who had
taken refuge with the Whigs of Duplin, without funds and bare
of clothing, resolved to return, fight, conquer, or die. After col-
lecting all the ammunition they could, they embodied and
selected Col. Thomas Brown in command. They marched fifty

The Revolution

117

miles through almost a wilderness country before they reached
the river, subsisting on jerked beef and a scanty supply of
bread. The Tories had assembled, 300 or more, at Elizabeth-
town, and were commanded by Slingsby and Godden. The
former was a talented man and well fitted for his station; the
latter, bold, daring, and reckless, ready to risk everything to put
down the Whigs. Every precautionary measure was adopted to
prevent surprise and to render this the stronghold of Toryism.
Nobody was suffered to remain on the east side of the river.
Guards and sentries were regularly detached and posted. When
the little band of Whig heroes after nightfall reached the river
not a boat was to be found. But it must be crossed, and that
speedily. Its depth was ascertained by some who were tall and
expert swimmers. They, to a man, cried out, “It is fordable;
we can, we will cross it.” Not a murmur was heard, and with-
out a moment’s delay they all undressed, tied their clothing and
ammunition on their heads (baggage they had none), each man,
grasping the barrel of his gun, raised the bridge so as to keep
the lock above water, descended the banks, and entered the river.
The taller men found less difficulty ; those of lower stature were
scarcely able to keep their mouths and noses above water ; but
all safely reached the opposite shore, resumed their dresses,
fixed their arms for action, made their way through the low
ground then thickly settled with men, ascended the hills, which
were high and precipitous, crossed King’s Boad leading through
the town, and took a position in its rear. Here they formed,
and, in about two hours after crossing a mile below, commenced
a furious attack, driving in the Tory sentries and guards. They
continued rapidly to advance, keeping up a brisk and well-
directed fire, and were soon in the midst of the foe, mostly
Highland Scotchmen, as brave, as high-minded as any of His
Majesty’s subjects. So sudden and violent an onset for the mo-
ment produced disorder ; but they were rallied by their gallant
leader and made for a while the most determined resistance.
Slingsby fell mortally wounded and Godden was killed, with
most of the officers of inferior grade. They retreated, some
taking refuge in houses, the others, the larger portion, leaping
pell-mell into a deep ravine, since called the Tory Hole. As the
Tories had unlimited sway from the river to the Little Pee Dee,
the Whigs recrossed, taking with them their wounded. Such
was the general panic produced by this action that the Tories
became dispirited and never after were so troublesome. The

118

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Whigs returned to their homes in safety. In the death of
Slingsby the Tories were deprived of an officer whose place it
was difficult to fill; but few were equal to Godden in partisan
warfare. This battle was mostly fought by river planters, men
who had sacrificed much for their country. To judge it cor-
rectly it should not be forgotten that the country from Little
Pee Dee to the Caharas was overrun by the Tories. Wilmington
was in possession of the British and Cross Creek of the Tories.
Thus situated, the attack made on them at Elizabethtown as-
sumed much of the character of a forlorn hope. Had the Whigs
not succeeded they must have been cut off to a man. If they
had fled southward the Tories would have risen to destroy
them. If eastward, the Tories in that case, flushed with victory,
would have pursued them, and they would have sought in vain
their former asylum. This action produced in this part of
North Carolina as sudden and happy results as the Battles of
Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey. The contest was un-
equal, but valor supplied the place of numbers.

It is due to Colonel Brown, who, when a youth, marched with
General Waddell from Bladen and fought under Governor
Try on at the Battle of Alamance and was afterwards wounded
at the Big Bridge, to say he fully realized the expectations of
his friends and the wishes of those who selected him to com-
mand; and when the history of our State shall be written this
action alone, apart from his chivalric conduct at the Big Bridge,
will place him by the side of his compatriots Horry, Marion,
and Sumter of the South. It must, it will, form an interesting
page in our history on which the young men of North Carolina
will delight to dwell. It is an achievement which bespeaks not
only the most determined bravery, but great military skill.
Most of these men, like the Ten Thousand Greeks, were fitted
to command. Owen had fought at Camden, Morehead com-
manded the nine months’ men sent to the South, Robeson and
Ervine were the Percys of the Whigs and might justly be called
the Hotspurs of the Cape Eear.

The foregoing narrative was detailed to me by two of the re-
spective combatants, who now sleep with their fathers ; the sub-
stance of which I have endeavored to preserve with all the ac-
curacy a memory not very retentive will permit. A respectable
resident of Elizabethtown has recently informed me that he was
a small boy at the time of the battle and lived with his mother
in one of the houses to which the Tories repaired for safety;

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119

that he has a distinct recollection of the fire of the Whigs, which
appeared like one continuous stream. Documentary evidence I
have none. With great respect,

The Battle of Elizabethtown took place August 29, 1781.
The consequences of that victory were far-reaching. Colonel
Slingsby had at Elizabethtown a great number of Whigs held
as prisoners, who were restored to liberty and augmented the
Whig strength in Bladen. The guns, ammunition, provisions,
and other spoils taken supplied the Whigs, who were in the ex-
tremest need. Not only were the Loyalists broken up and dis-
persed, but the Whigs were so strengthened that afterwards the
Tories, who had been masters of Bladen, made no opposition to
them. Still the condition of the Whigs in Bladen, as in all the
other Cape Eear country, remained deplorable.

OLD-TIME CAPE FEAR HEROES.

Col. James Innes, who appears to have had some military
training before he came to the Cape Eear, about 1735, so dis-
tinguished himself in the war against the Spaniards, in 1740,
that when the French and Indian War came on Governor Din-
widdie of Virginia appointed him to the command of all the
forces in Virginia.

Col. Hugh Waddell, a young Irishman who came to Wil-
mington, won a great reputation during the French and Indian
War; but Innes and Waddell both died before the Revolution,
as also did Moses John DeRosset, likewise an officer in the
former war.

Among others who served in the French and Indian War were
Col. Caleb Grainger, Capt. Thomas McManus, James Moore,
Robert Howe, and John Ashe. Howe had been in command of
Fort Johnston, and Ashe, colonel of militia, was for a time on
Innes’ staff.

When the Provincial Congress began to raise troops, in 1775,
J ames Moore was elected colonel of the First Continentals, and
at the outset he remained to defend the Cape Fear. He was
soon appointed brigadier general in the Continental Army, and
for a while in 1776 was in command of the forces in South
Carolina. He died on the Cape Fear, while leading his brigade
to the North. He was an officer of great ability.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Eobert Howe was colonel of the Second Continentals, which
he shortly led to Norfolk, where for a time he was in command.
Like Moore, he was appointed brigadier general in the Conti-
nental Army, and he succeeded Moore in command of the forces
in South Carolina, but later joined Washington and had a
distinguished career. After the war he died in Bladen and was
buried on his plantation, The Grange.

Alexander Lillington was colonel of the minute men of the
Cape Fear district. He became colonel of the Sixth Continen-
tals and later general of militia. He led his command to the aid
of Lincoln at Charleston, but on the expiration of the term of
duty he and his men retired from the city before it was too late.
The next year he was in command resisting the British on the
Cape Fear. He survived the war, but died a few years later.

Gen. John Ashe was the first brigadier general of the militia
of the Cape Fear district. As major general, in 1779 he led a
detachment to Georgia, but was defeated by British regulars.
In 1781 he was taken prisoner, and he died the same year at
Colonel Sampson’s, Sampson Hall.

After the surrender of the North Carolina Continentals at
Charleston, two new battalions were organized, Col. John Bap-
tista Ashe, who had served at the North, being lieutenant colonel
of one and winning fame at Eutaw Springs.

Lieut. Sam Ashe (the younger) was captured at Charleston,
and after exchange served with Greene till the end of the war.

For three years Maj. Sam Ashe, a son of Gen. John Ashe,
had a cavalry company at the North.

Col. Thomas Clark, a native of the Cape Fear, was colonel of
the Continentals, and served so well that the General Assembly
urged Congress to appoint him brigadier general. With nearly
all the North Carolina Continentals he was made prisoner when
General Lincoln surrendered at Charleston.

Samuel Purviance was colonel of the New Hanover Militia.

In the First Eegiment were Captains William Davis, Alfred
Moore, John Walker, and Caleb Grainger; Lieutenants John
Lillington, William Hill, Thomas Callender, and Samuel Wat-
ters, and Ensign Maurice Moore, jr. On the staff were Eichard
Bradley, William Lord, and Adam Boyd, while James Tate was
chaplain.

In the Fourth Eegiment were Captains Eoger Moore, John
Ashe, jr., and John Maclaine.

Dr. James Fergus was surgeon of the Sixth Eegiment.

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121

Capt. John Hill won laurels at the bloody Battle of Entaw
Springs.

Griffith John McKee was the commanding officer of the
[North Carolina Continentals with Greene at the end of the war
and was a most efficient and distinguished officer.

Major McKee left three sons, one, Capt. William McKee, of
the United States Engineers, planned the Lundy Lane cam-
paign; another, Gen. Sam McKee, distinguished himself in the
Mexican War; and the other, Dr. James Fergus McKee, was
perhaps the most learned [North Carolinian of his time.

One of the most picturesque characters of this period was
Maj. Jack Walker. He was horn near Alnwick Castle, under
the shadow of the Grampian Hills, and in 1761, while yet a
youth of twenty, he landed at Old Brunswick. In stature he
stood six feet four, and he possessed enormous strength. There
were no lions for him to conquer, but once when a mad bull
raged through the streets of Wilmington, Samson-like, he seized
the infuriated animal by the horns, threw him to the ground and
held him. As major of the North Carolina Continentals, he
fought valiantly at the [North. Ever a warm patriot, he was
violent against those who sympathized with the Tories. The
people loved him, affectionately calling him “Major Jack/7 and
he wielded great power among them. Although he amassed a
considerable fortune, he never married, his large estate descend-
ing to a favorite nephew, Maj. John Walker, who was the father
of Hon. Thomas D. Walker, Alvis Walker, John Walker, Capt.
George Walker, Dr. Joshua C. Walker, Henry Walker, Calhoun
Walker, and of the wives of Gen. W. H. C. Whiting, Maj.
James H. Hill, Capt. C. P. Bolles, Capt. John Cowan, and Mr.
Frederick Eosgate.

The above record is by no means complete, as during the
troublous time of the Revolution every patriot family on the
Cape Fear contributed its utmost to the cause of independence.

CORNELIUS HARNETT’S WILL.

In the sacred name of God, Amen.

The twenty-eighth day of April, one thousand seven hundred
and eighty-one, I, Cornelius Harnett of New Hanover County,
in North Carolina, Esquire, tho weak in body, but of perfect
mind and memory, do make & ordain this to be my last will and
testament in manner & form following, viz :

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Imprimus. I give, devise, and bequeath to my beloved wife,
Mary, all my estate, real, personal, & mixed, of what nature or
kind soever, to her, her heirs & assigns forever.

Item. I do hereby nominate and appoint my said wife,
Mary, Executrix, and Samuel Ashe & William Hill, Executors,
to this my last will and testament, hereby revoking and dis-
annulling all former wills by me heretofore made. Ratifying
and confirming this & no other to be my last will & testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the
day and year above written.

Cornl. Harnett (Seal)

Signed, sealed, published, pronounced,
and declared by the said Cornelius Har-
nett as & for his last Will & Testament
in presence of

Anne Hooper.

Tho. Maclaine.

Jno. Juske.

I, Cornelius Harnett having executed the within written
will, think it not improper to add that as I have ever considered
expensive funerals as ostentatious folly, it is my earnest request
(and from my present circumstances now doubly necessary)
that I may be buried with the utmost frugality.

Cornl. Harnett.

Hew Hanover County.

January Term, 1782.

The within last will & Testament of Cornelius Harnett,
Esquire, was exhibited in Court and proved by the oath of
Thomas Maclaine, a subscribing witness thereto, who swore
that he saw the testator sign, seal, publish, and declare the same
to be and contain his last will and testament. Also, that he
was of sound and disposing mind and memory. Ordered, that
letters testamentary do issue to Mary Harnett, Executrix to the
said will. At same time Mrs. Harnett qualified agreeable to
law. Tho. Maclaine, Clh.

This will was filed in my office by H. H. Robinson, clerk of
Bladen County, this 20th January, 1846.

L. H. Marsteller,

Cllc N. Hanover Cty Ct.

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123

FLOBA MACDONALD.

By David Macrae.

Shortly after the four years’ war, a distinguished Scottish
traveler and lecturer, David Macrae, visited Wilmington, and was
entertained for several weeks by my father, the late Alexander
Sprunt, who sent him with credentials to the “Scotch Country,”
where he was cordially received and honored. Mr. Macrae
delivered in Wilmington several lectures, which were largely
attended, and he generously devoted the proceeds to the benefit
of local charities.

He subsequently wrote the following account of Highlanders in
North Carolina, with particular reference to Flora Macdonald,
whose romantic life on the Cape Fear is worthy of a more en-
during memorial.

Visit to the Highland Settlement.

In the month of February, one clear, sharp morning, I left
Wilmington on my way up the Cape Fear Kiver to follow the
old track of the Highland emigrants, and see their settlement.

The steamers on that river, as indeed on most of the long
rivers in America, are stern-wheelers — large, slim, white, and
deck-cabined, with only one paddle, hut that of stupendous size,
standing out like a mill-wheel from the stern and making one
think, on seeing the steamer in motion, of a gigantic wheel-
barrow drawn swiftly backwards. The advantage of the stern
wheel for shallow and winding rivers is that it allows of a
narrower beam than two paddles, and takes sufficient hold to
propel a steamer in water too shallow for the screw. Our
steamer that morning (flat-bottomed, of course, as all American
river steamers are) drew only eighteen inches of water, and
went at great speed.

We had not been steaming long up the broad pale earthy-
brown river, through the flat expanse, with its rice plantations,
its forest land, and its clearings, with the black stumps still
standing like chessmen on a hoard, when I was struck with the
extraordinary appearance of the leafless woods, which looked as
if a deluge had just subsided, leaving the trees covered with
masses of sea-weed.

I gazed on this phenomenon with much wonder, till it sud-
denly occurred to me that this must he the famous Carolina
moss ( Tillandsia ) of which I had often heard, hut which I had
not yet seen in any quantity. I satisfied myself by asking a

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tall, shaggy man, in leather leggings and a tattered cloak of
Confederate gray, who was standing near me.

“Don’t it grow whar you come from?” asked the man, with
the usual inquisitiveness of thinly peopled regions. On learn-
ing that I was a stranger from the old country, he became ex-
ceedingly courteous, and told me that the moss I had inquired
about was very common in that State, and was much used by
the people for stuffing seats and cushions and bedding, being
first boiled to kill it. He said it seemed to feed upon the air.
You could take a handful and fling it over the branch of an-
other tree, and it would grow all the same.

After a sail of some hours we reached a point from which a
railway runs in a southwesterly direction, traversing part of
the “Scotch Country.” Here we got into “cars,” and were soon
howling through the lonely forest on the narrow iron bed, some-
times over tracks that were irregularly covered for miles with
still water, in which the trees and bushes that rose from it stood
reflected as on the bosom of a lake. How and then, at long
intervals, we stopped at some little wayside station in the forest,
with its cheerful signs of human life, its casks of turpentine and
its piles of corded wood, around which the pines were being
hewn down and cut, some of them into bars, others into cheese-
like sections, for splitting into the shingles that are used for
roofing instead of slates or tiles. Occasionally the train stopped
in places where there was no station at all, to let some one out
at the part of the forest nearest to his home. The conductor,
who was continually passing up and down through the cars,
stopped the train, whenever necessary, by pulling the cord that
is slung along the roof of all American trains and communicates
with the engine.

We now began to get up into the higher country, amongst
forests of giant pines, where the ground was rough, and where
the sandy soil, looking in some places like patches of snow,
seemed, for the most part, untouched by the hand of man. It
was into these vast solitudes, of which we had as yet hut touched
the skirt, that the Highlanders, driven from their native land
during the religious and political troubles of the last century,
had come to find a home.

Horth Carolina was long a favorite field for Highland emi-
gration. More than a hundred and forty years ago, when
Alexander Clark, of Jura, went out to Horth Carolina and
made his way up the Cape Fear River to Cross Creek, he found

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125

already there one Hector MhNeill, (known as “Bluff” Hector,
from his occupying the bluffs over the river,) who told him of
many others settled farther back, most of them exiles from Scot-
land, consequent on the troubles that followed the downfall of
the Stuarts, some of them Macdonalds who had been fugitives
from the massacre of Glencoe. The numbers were largely in-
creased by the failure of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. The
persecution to which the Highlanders were subjected after the
scattering of the clans at Culloden made many of them eager to
escape from the country; and when the government, after the
execution of many captured rebels, granted pardon to the rest
on condition of their taking the oath of allegiance and emigrat-
ing to the plantations of America, great numbers availed them-
selves of the opportunity. They were followed gradually by
many of their kith and kin, till the vast plains and forest lands
in the heart of Horth Carolina were sprinkled with a Gaelic-
speaking population.

In 1775, the Scotch colony received a memorable accession
in the person of Flora Macdonald, who, with her husband and
children, had left Scotland in poverty to seek a home with their
friends in the American forests. The heroine was received at
Wilmington1 and at various points along her route with High-
land honors; and the martial airs of her native land greeted
her as she approached Cross Creek, the little capital of the
Highland settlement. She arrived, however, at an unhappy
time. The troubles between Great Britain and the colonies
were coming to a head, and in a few months hostilities began.

It is somewhat singular that many of these Highland colon-
ists, the very men who had fought against the Hanoverian
dynasty at home, were now forward to array themselves on its
side. But they had been Jacobites and Conservatives in Scot-
land, and conservatism in America meant loyalty to the King.
Many of them, however, espoused the cause of independence,
and the declaration prepared in the county of Cumberland,
immediately after the famous declaration of the neighboring
county of Mecklenburg, has many Highland names attached.
The crafty Governor, fearing the spread of anti-British senti-
ment, and knowing the influence of Flora Macdonald amongst
the Scottish settlers, commissioned one of her kinsfolk, Donald
Macdonald, who had been an officer in the Prince’s army in

*At Wilmington a public ball was given in her honor.

126

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

1745, to raise a Highland regiment for the King, and gave the
rank of captain to Flora’s hnsband. This identified the heroine
with the Royalist party, and had the effect of securing the ad-
hesion of hundreds of gallant men who would otherwise have
held back or joined the other side. When the royal standard
was raised at Cross Creek, 1,500 Highlanders assembled in
arms. Flora, it is said, accompanied her husband, and inspired
the men with her own enthusiasm. She slept the first night in
the camp, and did not return to her home till she saw the troops
begin their march. The fate that awaited this gallant little
force is known to all readers of history. It had got down the
river as far as Moore’s Creek, on its way to join Governor
Martin, when, finding further advance checked by a force of
Revolutionists under Lillington and Caswell, while another
under Colonel Moore was hurrying up in pursuit, it was driven
to attack the enemy in front on ground of his own choosing.
In the first onslaught its officers fell, confusion ensued, and
after a severe struggle the Highlanders were routed.1 Flora’s
husband was taken prisoner and thrown into Halifax jail.

Many of those who escaped are said to have joined another
Highland regiment which was raised for the King under the
title of the North Carolina Highlanders and fought the Revo-
lutionists till the close of the war. So deeply had they identi-
fied themselves with the royal cause that when the war was
ended most of them, including Flora Macdonald and her hus-
band, left America and returned to Scotland. Those who re-
mained in the settlement, divided by the war, were soon reunited
by peace, became, as in duty hound, good citizens, and resumed
the task of taming the savage wilderness in which they had cast
their lot.

When the troubles between North and South were gathering
to a head in 1860, the Highlanders, with their conservative
instincts, were almost to a man opposed to secession. But,
taught to believe that their allegiance was due primarily, not to

M. A. McAllister, of Lumberton, N. C., says:

“In connection with the Battle of Moore’s Creek, it may interest a
good many to know that the capture of Gen. Donald McDonald was
effected by William Whitfield and his brother-in-law, Williams. This
fact I learn from the genealogical record of the Whitfield-Bryan fami-
lies. It is stated in the record that William and his brother, Needham
Whitfield, both took part in the battle. William belonged to the light
horse. He and Needham were sons of William Whitfield and his wife,
Anne Bryan, and there are but few families in North Carolina more
numerous or more highly respected.”

The Revolution

127

the Federal Government but to the State, no sooner did North
Carolina go out, than they, with Highland loyalty, followed;
and no men crowded to the front more eagerly, or fought more
valiantly or more desperately to the bitter end.

Almost every man of those I met had served in the Confed-
erate Army, and had left dead brothers or sons on the battle-
field. Others, following the example of those who had left
Scotland after the downfall of the Stuarts, and America after
the triumph of the Revolution, had left the States altogether,
and gone off to Mexico.

Amongst those I found at Wilmington was one who was a
fine specimen of the material that the Highlands have given to
Carolina, a spare, dark-visaged, soldierly fellow-— Gen. William
MacRae — whose personal valour and splendid handling of his
troops in battle had caused him to be repeatedly complimented
by Lee in general orders.

He seemed to belong to a fighting family. His eight brothers
had all been either in the army or the navy. Their father, Gen.
Alexander MacRae, had fought in the war with England in
1812, and, on the outbreak of the War between the States,
though then a man of seventy years of age, again took the field,
and commanded what was known as MacRae’s battalion. He
died not many weeks after I parted from him at Wilmington.
He was the grandson of the Rev. Alexander MacRae, minister
of Kintail, two of whose sons fell fighting for the Pretender at
Culloden. The others emigrated to North Carolina, and one of
them, Philip, who had also served in the Prince’s army, cher-
ished so deadly a hate of the English in consequence of the
atrocities of Cumberland, that he would never learn the English
language, but spoke Gaelic to the day of his death. The family
settled in Moore County, which is part of what is still called
the “Scotch Country.”

The Life of Flora Macdonald was published by her grand-
daughter in the form of an autobiography, said to be based on
family records. The following is the passage in which the
Scottish heroine is made to describe the episode in her life con-
nected with America:

“In 1775 my husband put in practice a plan he and I often
talked over — that of joining the emigrants who were leaving
their native hills to better their fortunes on the other side of the
Atlantic. We were induced to favour this scheme more par-
ticularly as a succession of failures of the crops and unforeseen

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

family expenses rather cramped our small income. So, after
making various domestic arrangements, one of which was to
settle our dear hoy J ohnnie under the care of a kind friend, Sir
Alexander McKenzie, of Devlin, near Dunkeld, until he was
of age for an India appointment, we took ship for Korth Amer-
ica. The others went with us, my youngest girl excepted,
whom I left with friends; she was only nine years old. Ann
was a fine young woman, and my sons as promising fellows as
ever a mother could desire. Believe me, dear Maggie, in pack-
ing the things, the Prince’s sheet was put up in lavender, so
determined was I to be laid in it whenever it might please my
Heavenly Father to command the end of my days. On reach-
ing Horth Carolina, Allan soon purchased and settled upon an
estate; hut our tranquillity was ere long broken up by the dis-
turbed state of the country, and my husband took an active part
in that dreadful War of Independence. The Highlanders were
now as forward in evincing attachment to the British Govern-
ment as they had furiously opposed it in former years. My
poor husband, being loyally disposed, was treated harshly by the
opposite party, and was confined for some time in jail at Hali-
fax. After being liberated, he was officered in a royal corps —
the Horth Carolina Highlanders; and although America suited
me and the young people, yet my husband thought it advisable
to quit a country that had involved us in anxiety and trouble
almost from the first month of our landing on its shores. So,
at a favorable season for departure, we sailed for our native
country, all of us, excepting our sons, Charles and Ronald, who
were in Hew York expecting appointments, which they soon
after obtained ; Alexander was already, dear boy, at sea. Thus
our family was reduced in number. On the voyage home all
went well until the vessel encountered a French ship of war, and
we were alarmed on finding that an action was likely'to take
place. The captain gave orders for the ladies to remain below,
safe from the skirmish ; but I could not rest quiet, knowing my
husband’s spirit and energy would carry him into the thick of
the fighting; therefore I rushed up the companion-ladder — I
think it was so called — and I insisted on remaining on deck to
share my husband’s fate, whatever that might be. Well, dear
Maggie, thinking the sailors were not as active as they ought to
have been — and they appeared crest-fallen, as if they expected a
defeat — I took courage and urged them on by asserting their
rights and the certainty of the victory. Alas ! for my weak

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129

endeavors to be of service ; I was badly rewarded, being thrown
down in the noise and confusion on deck. I was fain to go
below, suffering excrutiating agony in my arm, which the doc-
tor, who was fortunately on board, pronounced to be broken.
It was well set, yet from that time to this it has been consider-
ably weaker than the other. So you see I have periled my life
for both the houses of Stuart and Brunswick, and gained noth-
ing from either side !”

Early Years

ALYEE KAFFENEAU DEFILE.

Vice-consul dans la Caroline du Nord, professeur de botanique k la Faculty de M6decine de
Montpellier, membre de l’lnstitut d’Egypte, correspondant de l’lnstitut
de France, chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, etc.

Iii 1802, when First Consul of France, Hapoleon honored the
town of Wilmington by sending to this port as vice-consul the
gifted young scientist Raffeneau Delile, whose scientific work,
although he was at that time hut twenty-four years old, had won
for him the grateful recognition of France,

“ Quoi quit arrive il faut que je sois regrette , si j’ai eu quel-
que valeur; cest a V oeuvre que Von connait Vouvrier: ‘ A fruc-
tibus eorum cognoscetis eos / a dit VEvangile” (Whatever
happens, I must be regretted if I have had worth ; it is by the
work that we know the workman: ‘By their fruits you shall

know them/ saith the Gospel.) Thus wrote Delile in affec-
tionate confidence to his son five years before his death, and
his distinguished contemporary, M. Joly, in an historic eulogy,
quotes the scientist’s own words in his estimate of the man
whose work won for him an imperishable name.

Alyre Raffeneau Delile was horn in Versailles in 1778. His
ancestors had held positions at court from the time of Francis
I., and he inherited the post held by his father, hut his larger
heritage was the principles of honor and strict integrity. His
early boyhood was passed under the shadow of the impending
Revolution, hut though his father was attached to the court
during that critical period, he encouraged Delile in forming
independent opinions, leaving him free to espouse actively
either the cause of the King or of the people. With no predilec-
tion for public affairs, however, he gave himself to the study of
botany and anatomy, and when an interne in the Hospital of
Versailles, learned Greek and some Latin from one of the
Prussian soldiers who then filled its wards. Later, he entered
a medical school in Paris which Bonaparte, then professing in-
terest in chemistry, sometimes visited; hut for Bonaparte ab-
stract study could not shut out the call to the great arena of
military activity and conquest. At that time the mysteries of
Egypt beckoned with even greater persuasiveness than had the
[130]

Early Years

131

laurels of Italy, and the African expedition was made ready.
To the credit of Napoleon be it ever remembered that he desired
to conquer more than lands and peoples, and to accompany him
on that memorable journey to Egypt to solve its mysteries and
add distinction to French culture he chose fifteen of the greatest
savants of France, among them Rene Louiche Desfontaine, the
noted botanist, who had already visited Egypt, bringing back
probably the largest single collection of foreign plants then in
existence. But Desfontaine declined the honor of going and
requested it for Raffeneau Delile, then but twenty years old.
Realizing that his youth and inexperience might embarrass him
in such a company, Delile refused to go unless there should be
conferred upon him the title of a superior officer. His request
was granted, and he went forth with “those soldiers of letters,
the new Argonauts.” In Egypt his knowledge of Greek was of
great value to him in deciphering inscriptions on obelisks and
temples and in tombs. It was Boussard, an officer of this expe-
dition, who found the Rosetta stone, and it is possible that
Delile was one of the first to read some of the Greek inscrip-
tion1 upon that. These scientists formed themselves into the
Institute of Egypt, planned after the Institut National , and
Delile was made director of the Botanical Gardens of Cairo,
which he enriched by specimens gathered in the valley of the
Nile, on the borders of the Red Sea, and in the desert. He
thoroughly explored the world of plants, wrote extensively, and
read before the Institute of Egypt memorials that carried his
name across the Mediterranean. But misfortune came, and on
August 31, 1801, Alexandria capitulated to the English, leav-
ing to the mercy of the conquerors the marvelous collections of
Bonaparte’s scientific expedition. It was when these were
claimed that the illustrious naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,
in the names of his colleagues, Delile and Savigny, made to the
haughty English general the heroic response: “We will not

yield. Your army will enter this place in two days. Ah, well,
between now and then the sacrifice will be consummated. We
will ourselves burn our treasures; you will afterwards dispose
of our persons as seems good to you.” It is needless to say that
the collection was saved to the French.

Scarcely had Delile returned to France, when Bonaparte sent
him to Wilmington as under-commissioner of commercial rela-

!To Champollion belongs the honor of deciphering the hieroglyphic
and using it as a key to the decipherment of the monuments of Egypt.

132

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tions, with the title of vice-consul. The position was not in
harmony with his tastes, hut he applied himself to his tasks with
intelligence and zeal, and his rectitude and pleasing personality
won for him the esteem and affection of all. While here he
became the friend of Thomas Jefferson, then President of the
United States, and other distinguished Americans.

The rich vegetation of North Carolina, with its variety and
abundance of new and interesting specimens, furnished relief
from the more uncongenial task of observing the current price
of commodities at the port and counting the revenues that
passed through his hands. Dr. M. A. Curtis, the noted botanist
of North Carolina, in the Boston Journal of Natural History ,
1834, said: “It is confidently believed that no section of the

Union of equal extent contains such a rich and extensive variety
of plants as is to he found about Wilmington,” and he men-
tioned the fact that in little more than two seasons, at intervals
from other engagements, he had found more than a thousand
specimens, with much ground still unexamined. It is easy to
imagine how a man like Delile reveled in these new-found gar-
dens, and all the more because his august patroness, soon to he
the Empress Josephine, particularly requested him to collect in
America all the plants which might be of interest in France;
and the director of the establishment of Malmaison, M. de Mir-
bel, engaged him to respond as soon as possible to the commis-
sion of the future empress. Bonaparte, also, took the liveliest
interest in the plan of Josephine to naturalize foreign flora in
France, and, becoming emperor, it was his desire to bring under
one sceptre plants grown in every corner of the globe, and to
acclimatize them in the greenhouses of Malmaison. “Here,” M.
Joly tells us, “flourished the violet of Parma, the rose of Da-
mascus, the lily of the Nile,” and — shall we say the marvelous
Dioncea muscipula , Drosera , and Sarracenia of Carolina ? De-
lile is said to have established in Wilmington an herbarium in
connection with his collection for Josephine, and his specimens
of American grains he sent to the distinguished botanist Palisot
de Beauvois, who published a classification of them in general
with other specimens in his Agrostographie. The writer of
this sketch had the good fortune to come upon a copy of the
Agrostographie corrected by Palisot himself, in which he makes
acknowledgment to those who aided in his work, and among
them Delile. It is regretted that no book of Delile’ s giving an
account of the plants of Carolina is at hand. He wrote Memoire

Early Years

133

sur quelques especes de graminees propres a la Caroline du
Nord , also, Centurie des plantes de VAmerique du Nord , but
these are not available to the writer. At the time of his death
he was writing on the Flora d’ Amerique, which he expected to
publish soon.

Leaving Wilmington abruptly in 1806, Delile went to New
York and obtained a degree in medicine, after which he first
thought of practicing that profession in New Orleans, and then
of becoming an American planter. His mother combatted the
latter intention, however, and, reminding him of the friendship
of the Empress Josephine, emphasized the fact that it was not
necessary to be exiled from a country in which he had such good
and powerful friends. Shortly after this he was recalled to
France by a decree of the consuls to join a commission charged
with erecting a monument to science.

In 1819 he came to the chair of botany and materia medica
in the faculty of Montpellier, already made illustrious by half a
dozen of the most distinguished men of France. As director of
le jardin des plantes de Montpellier , he added lustre to his name
and to that of the establishment. The botanical gardens of
Montpellier, created in 1596 by Henry IV., were the first es-
tablished in France, and to an already bountiful collection De-
lile added treasures of the vegetable world found in Egypt and
in North Carolina and other parts of the eastern section of the
United States. His gardens seem in a measure to have been
converted by him into a department of agriculture, in which
he studied vegetation with practical intent, both for domestic
economy and for industrial development.

In the reign of Louis XVIII., he held at court the position
his father and grandfather had held — that of porte-malle — but
he soon renounced it, writing Voltaire: “It is from the court

that one ought to flee ; it is in the country that one ought to live.”

In 1806 he sent from New York to a friend in France a cata-
logue of the botanical gardens established in 1801 at Elgin,
New York, by the celebrated Dr. Hosack, and in doing so dis-
cussed briefly American trees, remarking that it would be very
easy to naturalize them in France, especially the cypress of
North Carolina, the white oak, the swamp oak, the green oak of
Virginia, and the yellow oak, the last valuable to art on account
of the beautiful color extracted from its bark, and the rest for
decorating parks. He called attention in particular to the fact
that our trees are able to stand more cold in winter and heat in
summer than those of France.

134

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Delile was a man of wonderful sweetness of character. When
he came to live in Wilmington, it was as if France had sent a
part of her better self — not a money-changer at the port, hut a
hit of fragrance wafted across the seas to unite us by bonds
closer than those made by the exchange of merchandise.

He numbered among his friends the most illustrious men of
France, England, Germany, and India. He wrote more than
sixty treatises, chiefly upon botanical subjects, hut a number
upon medical subjects. Among his best known works are his
Flore d’Egypte , Memoires sur VFgypte , Flore du Mont Sinai ,
Voyage horticole et botanique en Belgique et en Hollande , These
sur la phthisie pulmonaire , and Avis sur les dangers de V usage
des champignons sauvages dans la cuisine.

Rosa Pendleton Chiles.

Note. — On account of Raffeneau Delile’s four years’ sojourn in
Wilmington and the interesting fact of his introducing North Carolina
plants into France, the author has felt justified in requesting the prep-
aration of the foregoing sketch from French sources, there being,
as far as can be ascertained, no adequate account in English, although
Delile’s work is recognized by American botanists at the present day.
The source from which Miss Chiles has drawn chiefly is M. Joly’s
Elogtie Mstorique d'Alyre Raffeneau Delile, of which her sketch is in
part a translation.

BEGINNING OF FEDERAL FORTIFICATIONS ON
THE CAPE FEAR.

(Extracts from the Memoirs of Gen. Joseph Gardner Swift, U. S. A., first graduate and
afterwards commandant of the Military Academy of West Point.)

Proceeding by the right hank of the Cape Fear River to
Negro Head Point ferry, opposite Wilmington, I arrived at
Mrs. Meeks’ hoarding-house in that town on June 17, 1805, the
anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and on that day re-
ported myself by letter to my chief, Major Wadsworth, at West
Point, using the day and 1775 as the figurative date of my letter
by way of friendly memento. After presenting my letter of
introduction, I took the packet for Fort Johnston and there
paid my respects to the commandant of the post, Lieut. John
Fergus, an uncle of Cadet McRee, and commenced a happy
acquaintance with the surgeon of the post, John Lightfoot
Griffin, with whom I established quarters at Mrs. Ann McDon-
ald’s. Here I also met Gen. Benjamin Smith, and to the last

Early Years

135

of the month had conferences with him as to the best mode of
executing his contract with the War Department in the construc-
tion of a battery on the site of old Fort Johnston, Smithville.

Early in July I employed Mr. Wilson Davis, one of the most
intelligent of the pilots, and with his aid I sounded the entrance
over Main Bar, which is shifting sand, into the harbor of Cape
Fear, and also the entrance at New Inlet, and then viewed the
capacity of the anchorage within, together with the relative posi-
tion of the several points of land near the entrances, of which I
made a plot, and upon which I based my report of the 26th of
July to the Secretary of War. The substance of this report was
that the main objects to be secured were those that had been set
forth by my late chief, Colonel Williams, to wit: to cover an
anchorage in the harbor and to command its entrance by a small
enclosed work on Oak Island, and an enclosed battery at Federal
Point, at New Inlet, and also to complete the battery of tapia
at the site of old Fort Johnston, the last being contracted for by
Gen. Benjamin Smith. Pending the decision of the War De-
partment upon this report, much of the summer was a leisure
among agreeable families from Wilmington, that passed the
warm season in slight frame houses at “The Fort,” as the vil-
lage of Smithville is called. Among these was the family of
Capt. James Walker, to whose daughter Louisa and her cousin
Eliza Younger I was introduced at a dinner given to Dr. Griffin
and myself by Captain Walker. There were the families of Mr.
John Lord and of the founder of the place, Mr. Joshua Potts,
and of Gen. Benjamin Smith, who was to construct the public
work under contract, and of Captain Callender, the surveyor
of the port, who had been an officer of the army in the War of
the [Revolution, etc. General Smith became the governor of the
State. He owned a large extent of property on Cape Fear
River, and was of the family of Landgrave Thomas Smith, the
colonial governor of South Carolina in the preceding century.
He had become security for the collector of the port of Wilming-
ton, who was a defaulter to the government, and it was to dis-
charge this liability that General Smith had contracted to build
the tapia work at the fort. His lady, Mrs. Sarah Dry Smith,
was highly accomplished and was an hospitable friend to Dr.
Griffin and myself, and one of the finest characters in the coun-
try. She was the daughter and heiress of Col. William Dry,
the former collector in the colonial time, and also of the King’s
council. This lady was also a direct descendant from Crom-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

well’s admiral, Robert Blake. There was also residing at the
fort the family of Benjamin Blaney. A native he was of Rox-
bury, near Boston. He had migrated to Carolina as a carpenter,
and had by industry acquired a competence to enable him to
dispense aid to the sick and needy and other charities, in the
performance of which he was an example of usefulness, charity,
and unostentation. Most of the families at the fort were Fed-
eralists, and, though all deplored the event, they were the more
sensibly impressed with the news of the death of Alexander
Hamilton, who in this month of July had been slain in a duel
with Colonel Burr, the account of which had been written to me
by Colonel Williams. The whole Union was in a measure
moved to grief by this sad event. Colonel Hamilton occupied a
large space in the public mind. He had been the able leader of
Federalism — of a class of men who may in truth be said to have
been actuated by far higher motives than those of mere party.

My advices from West Point were that Major Wadsworth,
Capt. W. A. Barron and Mr. DeMasson formed the academic
corps; that Lieutenant Wilson was on duty at Fort Mifflin,
Lieutenant Macomb in South Carolina, and Lieutenant Arm-
istead in Hew York.

In my excursions on the water of Cape Fear I was aided by
Captain Walker, Dr. Griffin, and Mr. Blaney, who as sports-
men were familiar with the numerous shoals and channels and
anchorages thereof, so that the returns were not only in game
but also in giving me knowledge of the capacity of this harbor,
situate as it is on one of the most shallow and troublesome
coasts to navigators. The anchorage, covered from the ocean by
Bald Head, or Smith’s Island, extending from the Main Bar to
the Hew Inlet, and upon which island there is a growth of live
oak and palmetto, and abounding with fallow deer.

Intimacy with Mr. Walker furnished me with many items
of the war in Carolina, with which he was familiar, although
not taking part in the battles, for he had been a moderate Tory,
averse to taking arms against the mother country, in which
his friend and brother-in-law, Louis DeRosset, had influenced
him. Mr. DeRosset was of the King’s council. Mr. Walker
had been the executor of Gen. James Moore, the planner and
director of the American force at the Battle of Moore’s Creek,
fought by Lillington and Caswell. From the papers of that
officer he had gathered many an anecdote of the march of Corn-
wallis. Mr. Walker had been in the Regulators’ War of 1770

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137

and then commanded a company in the Battle of Alamance, in
the western part of the State. He was cured of much of his
Toryism by the tyrannical conduct of Maj. J. H. Craig, the
British governor at Wilmington, afterwards governor-general of
Canada. The conduct of this man had been oppressive and
needlessly cruel to the people of Wilmington, and Captain
Walker had been able to influence some relief for those who
were in arrest, etc. He and his brother-in-law, John DuBois,
had been appointed commissioners to arrange the cartel of pris-
oners, and to negotiate for the families who were to leave Wil-
mington when Cornwallis marched to Virginia, thus showing
the confidence that both Whig and Tory had reposed in those
gentlemen. Mr. Walker’s family were of the settlers called
“Retainers,” coming from Ireland under the auspices of Col-
onel Sampson and of his father, Robert Walker. Among the
families of “Retainers” were those of the Holmeses, Owens,
Kenans, etc., now become independent planters and distin-
guished citizens. The father of Captain Walker, the above
Robert, was of the same family with that of the Protestant hero,
the Rev. George Walker, of Londonderry. The mother of Cap-
tain Walker was Ann, of the family of Montgomery, of Mount
Alexander in Ireland, who had made a runaway match with
Robert Walker. Capt. James Walker married Magdalen M.
DuBois, the daughter of John DuBois and Gabriella DeRosset,
his wife.

In the month of September, in reply to my report of the 26th
of July, I received orders from the War Department to proceed
with as much of the work therein contemplated as was embraced
in General Smith’s contract upon the tapia work at the site of
old Fort Johnston, that had been there constructed in 1748
by His Excellency Gabriel Johnston, then colonial governor.
In clearing away the sand I found much of the old tapia walls
far superior to our contemplated plan for the battery of tapia.

Soon after this the slaves of General Smith commenced the
burning of lime in pens, called kilns, made of sapling pines
formed in squares containing from one thousand to one thou-
sand two hundred bushels of oyster shells (alive) collected in
scows from the shoals in the harbor — there abundant. These
pens were filled with alternate layers of shells and “lightwood”
from pitch pine, and thus were burned in about one day — very
much to the annoyance of the neighborhood by the smoke and
vapor of burning shellfish, when the wind was strong enough to

138 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

spread the fumes of the kilns. In the succeeding month of
November I commenced the battery by constructing boxes of the
dimensions of the parapet, six feet high by seven in thickness,
into which boxes were poured the tapia composition, consisting
of equal parts of lime, raw shells, and sand and water sufficient
to form a species of paste, or batter, as the negroes term it.

At the close of this month of November a large Spanish ship
called the Bilboa was cast away on Cape Fear in a storm. It
was alleged by the crew, who were brought by Pilot Davis to
my quarters, that the ship was laden with sugar, and that there
was much specie in the run ; that the captain and mate had died
at sea, and that having no navigator on board they had put the
ship before the wind and run her on shore near the cape. There
were twenty-one in this crew, a villainous looking set of rascals,
that I had no doubt they were. Lieutenant Fergus detained
them in the block-house at the fort until the collector sent in-
spectors to conduct the crew to Charleston, where the ship was
known to some merchant. These men all had more or less of
dollars in their red woolen sashes tied around their waists. On
their arrival in Charleston they were detained some time, but
no proof could be found against them and they went free. The
pilots and others were for some time after this exploring the
remains of the wreck, but nothing was found among the drift
save spars and rigging.

FIRST STEAMBOAT ON CAPE FEAB RIVER.

Let us contrast the swift steamer Wilmington with the primi-
tive example of former days — let us turn back for three-quarters
of a century, when the town of Wilmington contained only a
tenth of its present population, and recall an incident, related to
the writer by the late Col. J. G. Burr, which created the great-
est excitement at the time, and which was the occasion of the
wildest exuberance of feeling among the usually staid inhabi-
tants of the town — the arrival of the first steamboat in the Cape
Fear River. A joint stock company had been formed for the
purpose of having a steamer built to ply between Wilmington
and Smithville or Wilmington and Fayetteville. Capt. Otway
Burns, of privateer Snap-Dragon fame during the War of 1812,
was the contractor. The boat was built at Beaufort, where he
resided. When the company was informed that the steamer was

Early Years

139

finished and ready for delivery, they dispatched an experienced
sea captain to take command and bring her to her destined port.
Expectations were on tiptoe after the departure of the captain ;
a feverish excitement existed in the community, which daily
increased, as nothing was heard from him for a time, owing to
the irregularity of the mails ; hut early one morning this anxiety
broke into the wildest enthusiasm when it was announced that
the Prometheus was in the river and had turned the Dram Tree.
Bells were rung, cannon fired, and the entire population, with-
out regard to age, sex, or color, thronged the wharves to welcome
her arrival. The tide was at the ebb, and the struggle between
the advancing steamer and the fierce current was a desperate
one; for she panted fearfully, as though wind-blown and ex-
hausted. She could be seen in the distance, enveloped in smoke,
and the scream of her high-pressure engine reverberated through
the woods, while she slowly but surely crept along. As she
neared Market Dock, where the steamer Wilmington is at pres-
ent moored, the captain called through his speaking-trumpet to
the engineer below : “Give it to her, Snyder” ; and while Sny-
der gave her all the steam she could bear, the laboring Prome-
theus snorted by, amid the cheers of the excited multitude. In
those days the river traffic was sustained by sailing sloops and
small schooners, with limited passenger accommodations and less
comfort. The schedule time to Smithville, was four hours, wind
and weather permitting, and the fare was one dollar each way.

Note. — Steamboats were used on the Cape Fear very soon after their
introduction. On October 16, 1818, the Henrietta began to run regu-
larly between Wilmington and Fayetteville, and in April, 1819, Presi-
dent Monroe was carried on the Prometheus from Wilmington to Smith-
ville. The Prometheus was probably on the river long before 1819.

THE DISASTROUS YEAR OF 1819.

The growth of Wilmington was naturally slow, notwithstand-
ing the energy of the inhabitants. Indeed, because of the con-
stant exodus of North Carolinians to the new country at the
West and South, the population of the State hardly increased
at all during the early years of the last century. The popula-
tion of New Hanover County in 1810 was 11,465, and in 1820
it had fallen off to 10,866. In 1820 the population of Wil-
mington was, whites, 1,098, slaves, 1,433, free negroes, 102 — a
total of 2,633.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Especially, because of the absence of good roads and facilities
for transportation — save by the river to Fayetteville — there was
but little opportunity for extending the trade of the town.

Further, the trouble with England, the embargo, the inter-
ruption of commerce by the War of 1812, with the attendant
financial embarrassments, brought loss and ruin in their train.

Superadded was the scourge of yellow fever during the sum-
mer of 1819, the disease in that season being more prevalent
throughout the Southern and Middle Atlantic States than had
at any other time been known. Baltimore, as well as the more
southern ports, was entirely paralyzed. As in 1862, many
families fled from Wilmington into the interior.

Hardly had the desolation subsided and commerce revived,
when Wilmington was visited by the most disastrous conflagra-
tion recorded in its history. The total loss, as stated by some
standard authorities, was about one million dollars, but the
Cape Fear Recorder estimated it at between six and seven hun-
dred thousand dollars — an almost total obliteration of the
wealth of the town.

We quote from the Raleigh Register and North Carolina
State Gazette of Friday, November 12, 1819 :

It is our painful duty to register a very extensive and calamitous
fire which took place at Wilmington in our State; and we do it
with those strong feelings of sympathy and regret which such events
naturally inspire. We cannot portray the circumstances in which the
town was placed more feelingly than it is depicted by the Editor of
the Cape Fear Recorder ; “who feels them most can paint them best.”

Fire! Wilmington (says the Recorder) has experienced more awful
calamities by fire than any other place in the Union. Thrice, within
twenty years, has the devouring element laid in ashes the abodes of
her inhabitants. Enterprise, industry, and the assistance of her neigh-
bors, gave her, measurably, resuscitation, until the recent pressure
of the times bended her down almost to the sinking point. Em-
barrassments in pecuniary matters had reached that state which ap-
peared to baffle relief. Sickness and death followed in the melancholy
train. Despair had almost concluded that she could not sink beyond
this. Hope, the bright luminary by which man’s path in this world
of care is heightened and cheered, brought consolation, and pointed
to better days. Disease had ceased — the periodical work of death
completed — the late deserted abodes of her inhabitants filling — vessels
arriving daily in her port — the appearance of business reviving. On
Thursday morning, the 4th inst., about three o’clock, the cry of fire was
given, and the delusion vanished. Her bright hopes were destroyed.

The frightful picture is before us and it is our duty to present it to
our distant readers. The fire originated back of a small building

Early Years

141

occupied by Mr. Samuel Adkins as a grocery store, situated on the
wharf, near Dock Street, and adjoining the large brick warehouse
lately occupied as the ’76 Coffee-house, in part of which was the office
and counting house of Gabriel Holmes, Esq.

From the best calculation we can make, the whole number of houses
destroyed was about three hundred, of every description, including the
Presbyterian Church, lately erected; and the total loss of property
between six and seven hundred thousand dollars.

The following persons are those who have lost by the destruction of
buildings :

Col. Archibald F. McNeill, John London, Col. Thomas Cowan, John
Swann, jr., William McKay, Estate of Thomas Jennings, Seth Hoard,
Joseph Kellogg, Estate of J. London, Mrs. McRee, Jacob Levy, Richard
Bradley, Edward B. Dudley, William J. Love, S. Springs, James
Dickson, Hanson Kelly, David Smith, Henry Urquhart, John Walker,
George Jennings, Robert Rankin, State Bank, Estate of Nehemiah
Harris, Estate of James Allen, M. Blake, Estate of M. Murphy, James
Usher, Mrs. Hoskins, Mrs. Toomer, William Harris, James Marshall,
Estate of P. Harris, Louis Paggett, Estate of Hilliary Moore, Reuben
Loring, William C. Lord, Gilbert Geer. This list is no doubt incomplete.

Among those who suffered by the destruction of other property the
principal in amount are, Isaac Arnold, Edmund Bridge, jr., Eleazar
Tilden, Dudley and Van Cleff, Dudley and Dickinson, Miles Blake,
Seth Hoard, Richard Lloyd, J. Angomar, George Lloyd, H. Wooster,
Patrick Murphy, B. C. Gillett, W. C. Radcliffe, Stewart Robson.

It is almost impossible to ascertain the amount of individual losses.
Every person within the bounds of the fire, and all those without it
who removed their property, lost more or less. But the extent of a
loss, as it regards merely its amount, is not the criterion of its injury —
it is he that has lost his all, the unprotected, the friendless, and the
helpless, that ought to excite our pity and compassion, and calls for
our assistance.

Only one life was lost — Capt. Farquhar McRae, after the fire had
almost subsided, who ventured within a building for the purpose of
saving property not his own. The walls fell, he was crushed to atoms.
He was a useful citizen in his sphere of life and would have been
regretted even had he died on the couch of disease.

To the sufferings of others Wilmington has never remained indif-
ferent— limited as were her means, to know them was all that was
necessary for her to contribute her mite. She is now in distress —
hundreds of her inhabitants are suffering. The knowledge of her
situation will, we are certain, confer relief.

And all this is the work of an incendiary. Suspicion has been afloat,
but we suspect it has not been directed toward the right person.
Higher views than those of plunder must have been the object, for we
have heard of not much success and of very few attempts.

(Raleigh Register and North Carolina State Gazette, Friday, December 3, 1819.)

Wilmington Fire — We have pleasure in stating that a subscription
has been opened for the relief of the sufferers by this disastrous event,

142

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

not only among the citizens of Raleigh, but among the members of
both houses of the Legislature. The precise amount is not at present
ascertained; hut we trust it will be such as will show the liberality
of the subscribers, considering the hardness of the times.

Other Early Fires.

In the preface to his History of New Hanover County , pub-
lished in 1909, Col. Alfred Moore Waddell said :

“What is called the Lower Cape Fear region of North Caro-
lina has long been recognized by the writers of our history as
the most interesting and, as one of them designated it, ‘the most
romantic’ section of our State. Yet, up to this time, although
partial sketches, historical and biographical, have appeared, no
attempt at a regular history of it has been published, and now
such a history cannot he written because of the destruction, by
fire and other agencies, of a large part of the material requisite
for the purpose. There was, perhaps, no part of the country
where so many planters’ residences with all their contents were
lost by fire as on the Cape Fear and its tributaries, and it is well
known among the descendants of those planters, some of whom
were members of the learned professions, that by these fires
many manuscripts, family records, and documents of various
kinds that would have been invaluable as material for the prep-
aration of a local history, were lost. Besides these fires on the
plantations, the town of Wilmington was, at an early period, as
well as several times afterwards, nearly destroyed in the same
way, with the same results.

“None of the ancient official records of the town of Bruns-
wick were preserved, and a considerable part of the county
records was destroyed by Northern soldiers when the town of
Smithville was captured by them in 1865. Some of the town
records of Wilmington of an early period have also disap-
peared.”

Many years ago, I searched in vain the ruins of the first settle-
ment of Charlestown, at Town Creek, for records of that date,
but my search was rewarded later by the discovery in the ruins
of a house, said to have been the residence of Nathaniel Rice,
of the hook of entries and clearances of the port of Brunswick
in a partly mutilated condition. I also searched at Lilliput
among the ruins of Eleazar Allen’s residence, without result;
also, the ruins of Governor Tryon’s Castle Tryon, or palace, at
Orton, which revealed a piece of pottery stamped “W. Dry,

Early Years

143

Cape Fear, 1765/’ and a large bunch of housekeeper’s keys
upon an iron ring and hook which fitted into a leather belt with
a spring by which a key could be withdrawn and replaced.
Other relics of less importance were discovered, but no papers.
All of these ruins, as well as the ruins of St. Philip’s Church,
showed the devastation of fire in charred woodwork and melted
colored glass.

As early as 1771, Wilmington suffered from a terrible con-
flagration, and an act of Assembly was passed to regulate the
affairs of the town, in view of possible fires. In the account
just given of the destruction wrought in 1819, it is mentioned
that, in the previous twenty years, there had been several de-
structive conflagrations.

Mr. J. T. James says: “Wilmington, in common with many
other of her sister towns and cities, has suffered often and seri-
ously from the terrible scourge of fire ; so much so, indeed, that
these visitations have, from time to time, seriously retarded its
growth. Scarcely would the citizens recover from the effects
of one blow, ere they would be called upon to suffer again. The
old chronicles tell us that in November, 1798, a most destructive
fire occurred. On July 22, 1810, three stores and five houses,
situated near what is now the corner of Market and Second
| Streets, but then known as Mud Market, were consumed by fire
caused by lightning. In 1819, there was a most terrible confla-
gration, and the four squares bounded by Water, Princess, Sec-
ond, and Dock Streets were destroyed. In 1827, the square
south of the site of the present market house was again burned.
In 1840 the square north of the market was consumed for the
second time, together with the courthouse, which then stood at
the intersection of Front and Market Streets. In 1843 occurred
one of the most serious conflagrations of any ever experienced.
On April 30 of that year a fire originated in the alley just north
j of the Cape Fear Bank building and swept with rapid strides
to the north. All exertions to check it were in vain, and it was
\ not until everything west of Front Street and north of the bank
alley and portions of every square east of the same street and
bordering upon it and north of Chestnut were consumed, that
\ its fiery course could be stopped. This fire also destroyed the

j workshops and buildings of the Wilmington and Weldon Bail-

road Company, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, then situ-
ated, as now, upon the corner of Front and Walnut Streets,
j Three years afterwards, in 1846, the square next south of the

144 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

market house was again and for the third time destroyed by
fire.”

Reference was made to two of these fires hy Sir Charles Lyell,
the famous geologist, who was in Wilmington in December,
1841, and again in January, 1842, and still again in December,
1845. In a letter written by him from Wilmington in Decem-
ber, 1845, he said: “The streets which had just been laid in

ashes when we were here four years ago are now rebuilt; hut
there has been another fire this year, imputed very generally to
incendiarism, because it broke out in many places at once. There
has been a deficiency of firemen, owing to the State having dis-
continued the immunity from militia duty, formerly conceded
to those who served the fire engines.” Some mention of the fire
of 1843 is also made in the article on Governor Dudley.

FIRST CAPE FEAR IMPROVEMENTS.

I find in the annual report of William P. Craighill, then
major of Engineers, and brevet lieutenant colonel, United States
Army, for the year 1873, a brief history of old surveys and maps
and charts made of the Cape Fear River between its mouth and
the port of Wilmington, which is a record of some value to us. I
have also found in the records of the War Department of 1828,
a lengthy report hy Capt. Hartman Bache, of the Engineer
Corps, transmitted hy Maj. Gen. Alexander MacComb, chief
engineer, to Hon. James Barbour, Secretary of War, who in
turn transmitted it to Congress, which had called for it hy reso-
lution dated the 20th of December, 1827. This report is not
only interesting but valuable, as it indicates the initial measures
recommended and subsequently carried out hy the Federal Gov-
ernment for the removal of obstructions to navigation between
the bar and the port of Wilmington, the navigation of the river
being greatly hampered hy shoal water, which afforded, under
the most favorable conditions, a channel of less than nine feet.

It also appears from this report and from other data, that the
State work under Mr. Hamilton Fulton, State engineer in 1823,
was unsuccessful and was condemned in its most important fea-
tures hy Captain Bache and hy those who were directly inter-
ested in the commerce of the Cape Fear River.

About the year 1819 the State authorized Mr. Peter Brown,
an eminent lawyer residing at Raleigh, then intending to visit

Early Years

145

Great Britain, to employ an engineer for the purpose of im-
proving onr rivers and water transportation; and Mr. Brown
engaged Hamilton Fulton, at a salary of $5,000.

The work of putting in the jetties below Wilmington seems
to have been under Mr. Fulton’s direction; hut it is said that
the engineer in charge was Mr. Hinton James,1 who had been
the first student to enter the State University. Afterwards,
Mr. James, it is said, was mayor of Wilmington; and he lived
in the town to a ripe old age. Mr. Fulton’s work may have been
founded on correct principles, hut his plans, not only for the
Cape Fear River, hut for other improvements, were beyond the
financial resources of the State, and after some years they were
abandoned.

Steamboat Line to Charleston.

The progress of river improvement by the Federal Govern-
ment during a period of ten years, from 1829 to 1839, was
very slow, and it resulted in a gain of only two feet depth below
Wilmington; hut, after an hiatus of eight years, in 1847 it be-
gan to he pushed forward with great diligence and success from
Wilmington to the sea, resulting in a safer channel of thirteen
feet at high water and nine feet at low water. It is notable that
in 1853 some of the citizens of Wilmington, enterprising men
that they were, impatient at the slowness with which river and
harbor hills were passed by Congress and anxious to continue
the work without interruption, subscribed $60,000 (a large sum
in those days for a small community) in furtherance of the im-
provement of the river and bar under the direction of an officer
of the United States Engineer Corps. This was officially ap-
proved June 9, 1853, by Hon. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of
War. The officer in charge of the work was General Woodbury,
who married a daughter of General Childs. Meanwhile, there
was much enterprise shown by the merchants of Wilmington in
shipbuilding, in a large and increasing turpentine and lumber
trade, in the establishment of packet lines to Baltimore, Phila-
delphia, and Hew York, and in a daily mail steamboat line to
Charleston, consisting of the steamers Vanderbilt , North Caro-
lina, Gladiator , and Dudley.

Hlis tombstone was recently discovered by Rev. Andrew J. Howell, of
Wilmington, in the graveyard of the old Hopewell Presbyterian Church
in the northern part of Pender County, formerly a part of New Han-
over County. The inscription on the plain marble slab states that Mr.
James was born September 20, 1776, and died August 22, 1847.

146

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The following remarkable official statement was made by the
United States engineers in 1853 :

“The Cape Fear River is the natural and actual outlet of the
products of 28 or more counties in North Carolina and of sev-
eral counties in South Carolina. In one item of future exports
other Southern States are interested and the whole country must
be so in time of war : Coal in large quantities and of an excel-
lent quality has been found upon the waters of the Cape Fear,
about 120 miles from its mouth, and at no distant day, it is
supposed, will become a regular article of export. We may,
therefore, have — what must be regarded as a national benefit
at all times, and in time of war as of very great importance — a
depot of coal upon the Cape Fear, independent of supply from
the North, and beyond the reach of the enemy. But this depot
will, in great measure, be lost to the country unless the Cape
Fear shall be improved so as to admit our ships of war.”

Unfortunately, the mining of this coal a few years later did
not prove a success.

Congressional Aid to River Improvement.

It was not until 1826 that Congress began to make appropria-
tions for river and harbor improvements, and three years later
the Cape Fear River was included in the list. For ten years an
annual appropriation of $20,000 was regularly made, and then
because of a change in public policy such appropriations ceased.
The Democratic party was opposed to internal improvements at
the expense of the government. From 1838 to 1866 only a few
river and harbor bills were passed. Mr. William S. Ashe, the
representative from the Cape Fear district in 1854, differed
with his party on the subject of internal improvements and suc-
ceeded in getting through a bill carrying $140,000 for the Cape
Fear River, the particular object being to close New Inlet,
forcing all the water of the stream over the Main Bar. In order
to accomplish his purpose he had to persuade many of his Demo-
cratic associates to withdraw from the chamber, and so many
withdrew that, although his bill received a large affirmative vote,
there was no quorum, and he had to call in others to make a
quorum. On the final vote the bill passed, but there were still
more than eighty Democrats absent. That was the beginning
of the effort to close New Inlet, which was nearly accomplished
when the war stopped operations, but when blockade running
began, every one rejoiced that the inlet was still open.

Early Years

147

In after years Senator Ransom exerted himself with success
for the improvement of the river, but the greatest improvement
has been accomplished under the influence of Senator Simmons,
at the time acting chairman of the Committee on Commerce,
having such matters in charge. He has secured a 26-foot chan-
nel, increasing immensely the commercial facilities of Wilming-
ton, which her business men have quickly developed. Senator
Simmons has likewise secured the adoption of a project to canal-
ize the river from Wilmington to Fayetteville, and has been a
strenuous advocate of the Coastal Canal, now about to he con-
structed. He has long appreciated the value of inland water-
ways and was a member of the Commission on Waterways sent
to Europe by Congress a few years ago. In 1909 he was a
prime factor in securing the adoption of the proposition to have
a survey made for an intercoastal waterway from Boston to the
Rio Grande. In 1912 he secured the adoption of the Norfolk
and Beaufort section of that great undertaking and the purchase
by the government of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal.
He also secured the deepening of that waterway to twelve feet.

The River and Harbor Bill now pending carries a provision
for a survey to increase the depth of water from Wilmington to
thirty-five feet.

RAILROADS— THE FIRST PROJECT.

In March, 1833, the commissioners of the city of Fayetteville
were instructed to negotiate a loan of $200,000 to he invested in
the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad, which, with indi-
vidual subscriptions, would be more than enough for the organi-
zation of the company, and work could be begun in the spring
of 1834.

On May 1, 1833, the People's Press advertised that the sub-
scribers to the stock of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Rail-
road, by applying to Dr. William P. Hort, would be refunded
the amount of money paid by them on their shares, after deduct-
ing 12 per cent for disbursements. It was further stated that
the project was abandoned because of lack of support by the in-
habitants of the western section, who would not contribute one
cent to the enterprise of establishing a railroad from the sea-
board to the mountains.

148

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The First Declaration of State Policy.

On July 4, 1833, the Internal Improvement Convention
assembled in Raleigh with one hundred and twenty delegates,
representing twenty-one counties in the eastern and northern
sections. It seems to have been the first concerted effort towards
organized action looking to the establishment of a railroad.
Governor *Swain presided and Gen. Samuel F. Patterson and
Mr. Charles Manly were appointed secretaries. The personnel
of the convention must have been remarkable, as the record
says “So many distinguished and talented men are said never
before to have assembled in the State.”

In this convention Governor Graham, then in the prime of his
rare powers, urged as the internal-improvement policy of the
State, three north-and-south lines of railroad. He was antago-
nized by Joseph Alston Hill, of Wilmington, one of the most
gifted orators of that period, who advocated east-and-west lines,
marketing the products of the State through North Carolina
ports. It was a battle of giants, and Hill won the victory.

The convention adopted resolutions to the effect that the Gen-
eral Assembly ought to raise by loan such sums as will “afford
substantial assistance in the prosecution of the public works;
that no work should be encouraged for conveying produce to a
primary market out of the State ; that the Legislature he asked
to take two-fifths of the stock of companies ; that a Correspond-
ing Committee of twenty he appointed in each county, and that
a second convention he held on the fourth Monday in Novem-
ber.”

The delegates from Wake, Johnston, Lenoir, Wayne, Samp-
son, Craven, and New Hanover resolved that “means he devised
for carrying into effect the scheme of a railroad from Raleigh
to Waynesboro (Goldsboro), and thence to Wilmington.”

The committee for the town of Wilmington was composed of
Edward B. Dudley, William B. Meares, William P. Hort,
Joseph A. Hill, and Alexander MacRae. Circulars were issued
to the citizens of Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Sampson, Duplin,
New Hanover, and Brunswick to ascertain what amount of aid
they would contribute, and stating that $113,000 had been sub-
scribed by the citizens of Wilmington, and that a total of
$150,000 would be raised.

In July, 1833, the citizens of Wilmington formulated a prop-
osition to make application to the Legislature to incorporate the

Early Years

149

town of Wilmington, the object being to raise funds on which
immediate action could be taken in the construction of rail-
roads; but in January, 1834, the bill “to incorporate the city
of Wilmington and extend the limits thereof” was rejected.

The Origin of the Railroad Project.

Communication from Wilmington to the North was by means
of an occasional packet ship and two lines of stages, one by way
of New Bern and the other through Fayetteville and Raleigh.

The commerce of the town had but slowly increased and the
future prospect was gloomy. A railroad or two, very short lines,
had been constructed elsewhere, and this new method of travel
was being talked about ; but as yet it had not been proven a suc-
cess.1 Such was the situation when Mr. P. K. Dickinson, a
young Northern man who had located in the town, went one
summer to New England and saw there a little railroad in
operation. It had only wooden stringers, with narrow, thin, flat
iron on top, and the carriages were of light construction. Mr.
Dickinson was greatly impressed with its capabilities. Con-
vinced of its success, he became enthusiastic, and hurried back
to Wilmington with the news that he had found what was needed
to assure the future welfare of the town — a railroad. He was
so enthusiastic, so insistent and persistent, that his idea took
shape, and the people determined to have a railroad. With
Wilmington to resolve is to act, and the Wilmington and Raleigh
Road was chartered ; but Raleigh would not subscribe, while the
Edgecombe people would, so, although the line from Wilming-
ton to Goshen pointed to Raleigh, the construction was north-
ward to Weldon. Mr. Dickinson was one of the chief promoters
and remained through life the leading director. He was one of
the most useful, most esteemed and valued citizens of the town,
and his large lumber plant, located north of the railroad ter-
minal, was one of the great industries of Wilmington.

irrhe first American-built locomotive was put on the South Carolina
Railroad, November 2, 1830. The first roads were operated by horse-
power.

150

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

THE WILMINGTON AND WELDON RAILROAD.

In January, 1834, the bill to incorporate the Wilmington and
Raleigh Railroad became a law; but the terms of the charter
were so restricted that an amended charter was obtained in
December, 1835, conferring larger privileges and changing the
course of the proposed road. At the time of granting the first
charter it was the intention to construct a railroad merely to.
connect the principal seaport with the seat of the government;
but, as the project was more thoroughly considered, the advan-
tages of building to some point on the Roanoke to connect with
the Virginia lines, thereby completing one of the important
links in the line of iron rail that was to extend from Maine to
Florida, was realized, and in the amended charter the new cor-
poration was given the privilege of changing its destination.

The first meeting of the stockholders was held on March 14,
1836, in the Wilmington Courthouse, and organized by electing
Edward B. Dudley president (at a salary of $2,000), and the
following directors: Andrew Joyner, W. D. Moseley, James S.
Battle, Aaron Lazarus, Alexander Anderson, William B. Meares,
James Owen, P. K. Dickinson, R. H. Cowan, and Thomas H.
Wright. Gen. Alexander MacRae was elected superintendent,
and James S. Green, secretary and treasurer. After passing
several resolutions and agreeing to start the building of the road
at both Halifax and Wilmington at the same time, the meeting
adjourned to meet again on the first Monday in November and
thereafter annually on the first Monday in May. After Mr.
Dudley was elected governor, he was succeeded in the presi-
dency by Gen. James Owen.

The building of the road was commenced in October, 1836,
although little was done until January, 1837, and on March 7,
1840, the last spike was driven. Its actual length was 161%
miles, and at the time of its completion it had the following
equipment: Twelve locomotives, which were named, Nash,

Wayne (built by R. Stephenson & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, Eng-
land), New Hanover, Edgecombe , Brunswick, Duplin, and
Bladen (built by William Norris, Philadelphia, Pa.), Greene,
Halifax, and Sampson (built by Burr & Sampson, Richmond,
Va.), etc. There were also in use eight 8-wheel passenger
coaches, 4 post-office cars, 50 freight cars, and 4 steamers, viz. :

Early Years 151

the North Carolina, Wilmington, Governor Dudley , and Corne-
lius Vanderbilt.

The entire road was constructed under the following super-
vision : Walter Gwyn, chief engineer ; Alexander MacRae, super-
intendent; Matthew T. Goldsborough, principal assistant engi-
neer of the Southern Division, and Francis N. Barbarin, prin-
cipal assistant engineer of the Northern Division. The road was
first laid with plate iron 2 inches by % inch on wooden stringers.

On April 5, 1840, the celebration of the completion of the
railroad was held in Wilmington. The report says :

“A large number of gentlemen assembled in the town from
various parts of the State and from Virginia and South Caro-
lina at an early hour in the morning. The bells gave out sonor-
ous peals and the shipping in the harbor came up, their flags
waving. Cannon were fired every fifteen minutes throughout
the day, with a national salute at meridian. At 2 p. m. a pro-
cession, composed of invited guests and citizens, including the
president, directors, and officers of other roads, the Board of In-
ternal Improvement, the Literary Board, the president, direct-
ors, engineers, agents and others in the employ of the Wilming-
ton and Raleigh Railroad, was formed on Front Street, under
the direction of Gen. Alexander MacRae, marshal of the day,
assisted by Maj. R. F. Brown, and marched thence to the dinner
table, escorted by the Wilmington Volunteers with their fine
band of music.

“The dinner was set out at the depot under sheds temporarily
prepared for the purpose. About five hundred and fifty were at
the tables, which were amply prepared for hungry men.

“Gen. James Owen, the president of the company, presided,
assisted by the directors, acting as vice presidents. Good feel-
ing ruled the hour and good cheer gave quick wings to the nurs-
lings of wit.

“Then followed a number of toasts — fifty-seven toasts and
eleven letters with toasts.”

Other reports are as follows :

Nov. 8, 1841. — “Annual meeting of the stockholders of the
Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Co. Gen. James Owen de-
clined further service as president. Edward B. Dudley was
elected in his stead and the following gentlemen were elected
directors : P. K. Dickinson, Alexander Anderson, Thomas H.
Wright, Robert H. Cowan, of Wilmington, Samuel Potter, of
Smithville, and B. F. Moore, of Halifax.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

JSTov. 1842. — “ Annual meeting of the stockholders of the Wil-
mington and Raleigh Railroad Co. Edward B. Dudley was
reelected president. Directors : Alexander Anderson, P. K.
Dickinson, Samuel Potter, James S. Battle, A. J. DeRosset,
and James T. Miller.”

Hov. 12, 1847. — “The annual meeting of the stockholders of
the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad was held here. Gen.
Alexander MacRae was elected president and E. B. Dudley,
P. K. Dickinson, Gilbert Potter, James T. Miller, O. G. Pars-
ley, and William A. Wright, directors. (The same as last year
except William A. Wright in the place of Dr. John Hill, de-
ceased.)”

At this last meeting it was resolved, “That the stockholders of
the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Co., in general meeting
assembled, do hereby pledge to the Wilmington and Manchester
Railroad Co. a subscription of $100,000, to he paid on the com-
pletion of the said Manchester Railroad from the proceeds of
the sale of steamboat and other property, which will at that time
become unnecessary for the purpose of this company : Provided
that our Legislature take such action as may authorize said sub-
scription.”

Hov. 10, 1848. — “Annual meeting of the stockholders of the
Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Co. Ho change made in the
president or Board of Directors, except four directors on the
part of the State were to he appointed by the Internal Improve-
ment Board.”

In December, 1848, a bill was introduced in the Legislature
authorizing the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Company to
mortgage the road and its appurtenances for about $600,000 for
the purpose of purchasing iron to relay its tracks, and in Janu-
ary, 1849, $620,000 was authorized and an extension of ten
years granted for the repayment to the State of $300,000 for
money borrowed. Dr. A. J. DeRosset was sent to England,
where he purchased 8,000 tons of iron, to be paid for by the
bonds of the company secured by mortgage on the road.

The rail commenced to arrive in October, 1849, and in Janu-
ary, 1850, Congress passed an act for the relief of the Wilming-
ton and Raleigh Railroad, providing for the paying of import
duties on the rail by deducting annually the amounts due from
the Post Office Department for carrying the mails. It was then
the T-rail was introduced, which superseded the flat iron.

In August, 1850, Dr. John D. Bellamy, of Wilmington, was

Early Years

153

elected to succeed Col. James T. Miller as a director, and in
November of the same year, at the regular meeting of the Board
of Directors, Gen. Alexander MacRae and the entire Board of
Directors were reelected. A surplus of $45,000 was directed to
be applied to the extinguishment of the debts of the company.

It was about this time that the Wilmington and Manchester
Railroad was completed, giving a through rail connection to
the South, and thus making still more important the Wilming-
ton and Weldon Railroad, as the Wilmington and Raleigh Rail-
road came to be called, its name being changed by the Legisla-
ture in 1855.

It is interesting to note, with reference to the far-seeing quali-
ties of the men of 1835 and 1836, that a few years ago the
chairman of the board discovered a letter written in the fine
Spencerian hand of Governor Dudley, the first president, out-
lining the policy for the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, in
view of his resignation in order to enter Congress. The extraor-
dinary character of this proposed policy revealed the fact that
the policy of the Coast Line under its new administration has
been following precisely the line of action indicated by Governor
Dudley at the beginning of its existence.

The Longest Railroad in the World.

Probably the most momentous, the most dramatic incident in
the commercial history of Wilmington occurred in the fall of
1835 in the south wing of Gov. Edward B. Dudley’s residence
at the southwest corner of Front and Nun Streets, where a num-
ber of prominent Wilmington citizens had assembled to sub-
scribe their names to the stock of an extraordinary adventure —
the building of a railroad from Wilmington to Raleigh, to be
called the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad.

The town contained at that time a population of about three
thousand souls, a majority of whom were negro slaves, and here
an assembly of about twenty courageous men of the little corpo-
ration actually subscribed a larger sum than the entire taxables
of Wilmington amounted to in that year to build the longest
railroad in the world. It is well to remember, in our boasted age
of progress, the splendid example of the fathers of 1835, whose
foresight and self-sacrifice laid the foundations of our success.
Perhaps the largest subscription was that of Governor Dudley —
$25,000.

154

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

During the years that followed, the most important topic of
local concern was the railroad, which so overtaxed the means of
its promoters that even with the added endorsement of the di-
rectors its official order for a hundred dozen shovels was rejected.

The late Robert B. Wood, one of the railroad contractors of
1836 and later, informed me many years ago, that this incident
led to a proposal by the railroad directors and contractors that
Mr. John Dawson, then a prosperous dry-goods merchant on
Market Street and a stockholder in the railroad, should add to
his business a hardware department, comprising tools and im-
plements needed for railroad work, assuring him of their un-
divided patronage. This was agreed to, and the well-known
extensive hardware establishment of John Dawson, which led
that business until Mr. Dawson died, had its origin and ad-
vancement in that way.

Mr. Wood also informed me that the method of advertising
the meetings of stockholders and directors, which were often
held, was unique. He owned a docile gray mare which was
frequently borrowed by the officials on urgent business, and also
used to make known the meetings by a large placard hung on
either side of the saddle, in which a negro slave rode constantly
ringing a large brass hand-bell, and parading the principal
streets, proclaiming “Railroad meeting tonight.”

Some of the newspaper illustrations of the “cars,” as the
train was termed in its early days, show a vehicle closely re-
sembling the old stagecoach, with a greater number of passen-
gers on top than are shown inside.

Timid apprehensions of danger were allayed by the official
assurance upon the time-table that under no circumstances will
the cars be run after dark.

The time of the departure of the northern train depended
upon the arrival of the Charleston mail and passenger boats,
which ran daily to connect with the cars at Wilmington. This
elastic schedule, affected by the tides and wind and weather,
sometimes varied as much as an hour from day to day, and the
Wilmington passengers for the Horth usually pursued their
regular avocations until the warning bell of the approaching
steamer was heard all along the wharf, when a hurried depart-
ure was made for the train at the foot of Red Cross Street. .

A prominent chemist of Wilmington told me that upon one
occasion when he was delayed the train had reached Boney
Bridge before the accommodating conductor saw his frantic

Early Years

155

signal to stop, but, true to the spirit of the times, the engineer
immediately reversed the train and ran hack two blocks in order
to take him on board.

Upon the arrival at Wilmington of the train from the North,
it was the custom of the general staff, on occasions, to meet the
passengers with welcome speeches and with a gracious bow to
present to every lady a bouquet of choice flowers. Conspicuous
in this fine courtesy was the secretary and treasurer, Mr. James
S. Green, who was sometimes so laden with floral offerings that
his arms embraced quite a respectable flower garden. His affa-
bility was proverbial, and I well remember as a youth the sweet
and gentle salutations of his later years. Well might Jenny
Lind, the distinguished recipient of his gracious courtesies, have
said to him upon her arrival in Wilmington, as Oliver Wendell
Holmes said to some one else, “If your garden is as full of roses
as your heart is of kindliness, there is no room for the side-
walks.?? Such delicate attentions were a part of the hospitality
of the Cape Fear people of the olden times. The cultivated
citizens of Wilmington unconsciously exhibited towards all re-
spectable strangers in the streets and in the hotels such marked
deference in their salutations and welcome that the impressions
of intelligent travelers on business or pleasure were most favor-
able. Our esteemed octogenarian, Mr. Walker Meares, tells me
that it was the custom of prominent citizens to make formal
calls upon the strangers who came here in the forties, and to
welcome them with stately dignity and courtly expressions to
the thriving town of Wilmington.

Development of the Railroad.

When President Dudley retired from the presidency in 1847,
he was succeeded by Gen. Alexander MacRae.

In those early days there were numerous difficulties in opera-
tion, but General MacRae proved himself to be a most capable
and efficient manager. The Board of Directors was composed
of some of the most competent business men of Wilmington —
men unsurpassed for capability, energy, and integrity. They
placed the bonds of the road in London on advantageous terms,
and the construction was cheap and without unnecessary ex-
penditure.

In 1854 William S. Ashe became president. General condi-
tions were now changing. The South was emerging from in-

156 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

fantile weakness, and industries were developing and multi-
plying.

On the completion of the North Carolina Railroad, Colonel
Fisher and Mr. Ashe arranged for western products to come to
Wilmington through Goldsboro, and a line of steamers was put
on from Wilmington to New York, carrying North Carolina’s
products to the markets of the world from a North Carolina
port — the consummation of Mr. Ashe’s purpose when he drew
the charter of the North Carolina Railroad.

But passenger traffic was of equal importance to the road, and
Mr. Ashe sought to build up a great through passenger business.
He sought to eliminate as far as practicable all breaks at termi-
nals, and to relieve travel of its inconvenience and tedium, and
in conjunction with Senator David L. Yulee, the president of
the Florida Railroad, he developed Florida travel until it
reached large proportions and became a highly remunerative
business.

Recognized throughout the South as a dominant influence in
railroad matters and a most successful manager, in 1861, at the
request of President Davis, Mr. Ashe took supervision of all
Confederate transportation east of the Mississippi River, but he
still remained president of the Wilmington and Weldon Rail-
road until his death, in September, 1862.

THE COMMERCE OF WILMINGTON.

From the beginning among the merchants of Wilmington
were some men of enterprise, who owned their own ships, which
were engaged in trade with Great Britain as well as with our
Northern ports and the islands of the Caribbean Sea.

Forest products at first furnished a considerable part of the
exports, while the imports were such as a newly settled country
needed. But as the population of the interior thickened and
products became diversified, Wilmington became the center of
a varied and extensive commerce and its importance as a com-
mercial entrepot increased, while many of its merchants became
men of importance who deserved to rank as eminent in the world
of trade. The following quotations indicate the commercial im-
portance of Wilmington between 1830 and 1840.

The Boston Courier of July 23, 1830, says: “One hundred
and fifty-one more vessels have entered the port of Wilmington

Early Years

15 7

this year than last, including in the number 1 ship, 2 barks, 181
brigs, the rest (410) schooners. These tar-and-shingle skippers,
which carry large topsails, everywhere besprinkle our coast.
Now Wilmington is the grand railroad and steamboat thorough-
fare. She is taking the position that belongs to her and recall-
ing the proud days of her prosperity before the American Revo-
lution.”

The Richmond Compiler says: “One hundred and fifty-one
more vessels have entered the port of Wilmington this year than
last. This shows great advance in trade. We have been sur-
prised to hear that the tonnage of Wilmington exceeds that of
Richmond, although the town has not one-fourth of our popula-
tion. It must be a place of great enterprise, if we judge from
what has been done within the last few years. We feel admira-
tion for such a people and take pleasure in expressing it.”

A memorial of the Internal Improvement Convention to the
General Assembly of North Carolina at the session of 1838,
embodying the following tables, shows what the foreign trade
was at that time:

“The tables annexed show the tonnage employed in the foreign
trade, entered and cleared at Wilmington from October, 1836,
to October, 1837 ; also the tonnage employed in the foreign
trade of the ports of Norfolk, Petersburg, and Richmond for
the same time, as taken from the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury.

“From these tables it appears that in the year 1837 the ton-
nage entered and cleared in the foreign trade from Wilmington
exceeded that of Norfolk 6,384 tons, and exceeded both the ports
of Richmond and Petersburg together 17,694 tons. We are
informed on high authority that the coast trade of Wilmington
employs a greater tonnage than her foreign trade. We have not
the means of ascertaining its actual amount, as it is not reported.
If this be true, and we believe it to be so, not only on the high
authority from which we received it, but because we know the
maritime trade of North Carolina is principally a coasting-
trade, it would follow that the tonnage employed in the trade
of the port of Wilmington is greater than the three great ports
of Virginia — Norfolk, Richmond, and Petersburg.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Comparison of Foreign Trade of Wilmington with That
of Norfolk, Petersburg, and Richmond in 1838.

WILMINGTON TONNAGE ENTERED AND CLEARED.

American vessels 12,378

Foreign vessels 3,827

16,205 Entered 16,205

American vessels 25,600

Foreign vessels 3,929

29,529 Cleared 29,529

VIRGINIA TONNAGE ENTERED.

Petersburg, American vessels 3,693

Richmond, American vessels 2,822

Foreign vessels. 1,197

7,712 7,712

Norfolk, American vessels 4,357

Foreign vessels 10,000

14,357 14,357

VIRGINIA TONNAGE CLEARED.

Petersburg, American vessels 2,748

Richmond, American vessels 13,240

Foreign vessels 4,340

20,328 20,328

Norfolk, American vessels 12,771

Foreign vessels 12,222

24,993 24,993

Early Years

159

WILMINGTON IN THE FORTIES.

John MacLaurin, a prominent merchant and a Presby-
terian elder, who died in the year 1907, was one of the most
remarkable men of our community in his day and generation.
Proud of his Scottish lineage, he possessed those sterling traits
of heart and mind which likewise adorned the lives of many
of his fellow-countrymen in the Cape Fear region — “absolute
dependableness in all thinking and in all dealing, a lively sense
of justice, a cultivated taste, critical judgment, with a splendid
capacity for moral indignation.” He was an honor to his city
and Commonwealth.

He was a friend and admirer of Colonel Burr, who was
some twelve years his senior, and he wrote for the local news-
papers some charming reminiscences of Wilmington in the
forties over the pen name “Senex, Jr.,” parts of which I have
selected for more permanent record.

After little observation, one will note in the topography of
Wilmington that Fifth Street, running parallel to the Cape Fear
River, is the backbone of a ridge upon which the city is built.
The plateau which lies upon the summit of this ridge is variable
in width, including oftentimes Fourth and even Third Streets
on the one side and Sixth and Seventh Streets on the other, in
somes cases with the level ground almost overhanging the river,
as between Ann and Church Streets. We speak of the natural
lay of the land as the topography — before the many changes that
within the past fifty years have been made by grading and filling
the streets. The average height of the ridge is fifty feet above
tidewater, and the highest point, supposed to be at or near the
intersection of Seventh and Red Cross Streets, perhaps ten feet
higher. The descent towards the river is seamed by several
branches, or runs, taking their rise sometimes as far back as
Third Street and emptying into the river a few hundred yards
apart. Within the limits of “Wilmington of the Olden Time”
these were the streams rising between Third and Fourth Streets
and emptying at the foot of Mulberry: Jacob’s Run, rising at
Fourth Street near Princess and pursuing a southwest course
until the river receives its waters at Dock Street ; and Tanyard
Branch, rising at Third Street between Orange and Ann Streets
and running nearly due west, emptying into the Cape Fear
River at a point between the same streets. Boiling Springs

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Branch does not come strictly within our limits, but so near by
that it is given its place here. Rising about Fifth Street and
Wooster, it runs west with an inclination slightly south and
empties near the foot of Dawson Street.

The river front as we see it now gives little idea of the water
line even fifty years ago. The business of that time was done
between Orange and Mulberry Streets, most largely perhaps
north of Dock. After the building of the Wilmington and Wel-
don Railroad, the trend of business was constantly toward the
depot. The wharves south of Orange Street were used for the
storage of staves, river lumber, and tar. The distillation of tur-
pentine was then in its infancy and a slight factor in business
operations. Above Mulberry Street the water of the river came
up to Nutt Street in all places where the land had been made, as
it was called, by filling in the water lots with ballast or sand.
When steamers were first placed in line between Wilmington
and Charleston, a bridgeway was constructed to reach the boats
and transfer passengers and baggage from the railroad landing
place. Above Campbell Street on the river front, fifty years ago,
were woods, or rather swamp. Above Bladen, a sheer bluff rose
from the foot of the swamp, and just beyond Harnett Street on
the summit of the bluff stood “Paradise,” then owned by Mr.
Robert H. Cowan. The locality in general was less euphoniously
styled “Hogg’s Folly” — precisely why no one seems to know,
but certainly because some one of the name had begun an enter-
prise of some kind or other which proved an impracticability on
his hands.

Before entering upon any report of people and places it may
be well to note how the natural features have been changed
within the past half century. We will follow the courses of
some of the streams we have referred to, confining ourselves to
the limits embraced in the original plan of the town ; viz. : Be-
tween the Cape Fear River and Fifth Street, long known as
“Old Boundary,” and between Campbell Street and what was
afterwards known as Wooster. Sometime, doubtless near the
completion of the Wilmington and Raleigh (now Wilmington
and Weldon) Railroad, it became desirable to level Front Street
across Mulberry. This seems to have been done without the
precaution of making a drain to carry off the water, which was
thus backed up Mulberry Street and formed a pond extending
as far as Second Street, and which must have been several feet
deep. This body of water was known as the “Horse Pond,” and

Early Years

161

remained a source of discomfort and a menace to health until
sometime in the forties. It was quite deep and fish were some-
times caught from its waters.

Nowhere have changes been more or greater than on the line
of Jacob’s Run. Fifty years ago the lots between Third and
Fourth Streets, now occupied by the courthouse and the jail of
the county, were a quagmire. Princess Street, between the streets
named, was a slope from the point now occupied by the City
Hall (the top of the hill was then several feet higher than now)
down to the stream below. Third Street, at and near Princess,
is several feet higher than it was in 1840, and the same is to be
said of Second Street at the intersection of Market. At this
point the mud in times long since past was so prevalent that the
locality, being then occupied by a market house and town hall,
was known as “Mud Market.” Improvement of a like charac-
ter was made, at an earlier date probably, at or near the inter-
section of Dock and Front Streets. There is a tradition that
small canoes or batteaux came up Jacob’s Run from the river
at high tide to Mud Market. This occurred before the memory
of any one now living, hut it is founded on the testimony of per-
fectly truthful gentlemen. As late as 1840 the sidewalk on the
south side of Market, near Second, was some feet higher than
the street itself, and several steps were the means of ascent or
descent. Willow Spring Branch was overlooked in what has
gone before. It took its rise above Second Street, near the line
of Third, and thence to the river. The lots on the west side of
Second Street, between Dock and Orange Streets, show how
much the land just here was raised on the line of Second Street.
Where the dwelling on the east side of Second Street, Judge
Russell’s residence, and the dwelling on McLean’s Alley now
stand was a depression, and the street has been raised some eight
or ten feet at least. Apparently to protect the Willow Spring
from the caving-in of earth, a wall of cypress logs was run on
the line of the street and on the alley. From near the middle of
Third Street between Orange and Ann, at a point some fifteen
or twenty feet from the eastern line, the hill sloped abruptly
until about the western line it was arrested by a brick wall.
This depression made Third Street impassable in this immedi-
ate locality except on the margin indicated. The wall referred
to protected a spring at its foot, and thence the stream flowed on
to form a tanyard near Second Street, established in 1826 by
Isaac Northrop and John M. VanCleff and afterwards owned

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

by Mr. Northrop and John T. Hewitt. Second Street was then
much lower than now. But nowhere within the city limits have
there been such changes as on the line of Front Street, between
Orange and Ann. Third Street at this point was then as low as
the coal yard of W. G. Fowler, at its eastern limit, now is. From
this point rose a steep hill, upon the summit of which stood the
Baptist Church. The dwelling into which the church was trans-
formed marks the elevation. In those days, of course, Front
Street could only be traveled in wheeled conveyances with diffi-
culty, and to reach Front Street from the river by the line of
Ann or Nun Streets was impracticable.

Before entering upon the main subject, however, it may be
well to discuss in a general way the prevalent customs or habits
of the people of a half century or more ago, and their modes of
business, and to note any other matters concerning the times that
may be interesting or instructive. There were very few resi-
dences east of Fifth Street (at that time in the eastern bound-
ary). The present residence of the bishop of East Carolina was
then owned and occupied by Mr. James S. Green, and was the
only house on the entire block on which it was situated. A few
houses were on the eastern side of Fifth Street, but none farther
out, so that in this part of town all east of Sixth Street may be j

said to have been in the woods. On Market Street there was
little, if any, extension of habitation. In fact, between Seventh
and Eighth, near Market, was the public hanging ground, and
chinquapin hill, where that fruit could be gathered in season,
then comprehending in general the ground anywhere on or about
Market and Eighth Streets. Around the northern and especially
the southern boundary, settlement was sparser still. Dry Pond,
bounteously full of water in the wet season and guiltless of a
semblance of moisture in the dry, then sat placidly on the snow-
white sand amid the scrubby oaks and prickly pears and wire
grass without a habitation about it.

In 1840 the population of Wilmington was 4,268, and the
limits were circumscribed as we have heretofore stated them.

At the time of which we are now writing not even gas lighting
had been dreamed of. Kerosene was then, and even for twenty
years after, totally unknown. Camphine, a refined preparation
of spirits turpentine, was a recent and most decided improve-
ment on the lamp oil or tallow-dipped candles. This article,
camphine, came into almost universal use, having very high illu-
minative power, though exceedingly inflammable, and so ex-

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163

tremely dangerous. Its cheapness was a great recommendation,
and its only rival, if it was a rival, for illuminating purposes,
was sperm candles, which were beyond the reach of those in mod-
erate circumstances. Somewhat later on adamantine candles,
because of good lighting power with little accompanying hazard,
in a great measure displaced camphine. The candle then be-
came the most universal house and office illuminator, and the
candlesticks and snuffers were indispensable household articles.
The streets were lighted with big lamps filled with whale oil and
placed at the intersection of the streets. The lighting, as may
be readily conceived, served to do little more than make the
darkness visible.

Matches were not known a hundred years ago. In fact, the
first properly called friction matches were invented in England
in 1827, and greatly improved in 1838, but still they were
neither quick nor sure, easily lighted nor safe ; not safe because
of being tipped with phosphorus, a substance fatally poisonous
to many of those engaged in the manufacture, and even to some
who used the matches. In 1855 were invented the safety
matches, which have since been evolved into those in use at
present. Before the days of matches, flint and steel had to be
resorted to for the making of fire, and because of the cost of
matches these primitive and uncertain means were the only
resources of the poor for many years after matches were intro-
duced. For the reason just given it was of the utmost impor-
tance to keep up fire day in and day out, and in many families
it was true that for years upon years fire in the house was never
suffered to go out. A common thing it was in summertime to
place a paper bearing the merest glimmer of light afloat in a cup
of oil at bedtime and so keep up the fire until morning.

Fuel comes naturally to be considered now. It was generally
simply the forest growth, or the refuse of sawmill operations.
Coal was not unknown, of course, in 1840, or its value as fuel
underrated, hut until the days of railroad communication the
cost of the carriage of coal, even to get it to navigable water,
made it generally unavailable as fuel.

Allusion has been made to the street lighting. Hardly had
“Old Matt” set his feeble lamps alight, when the sound of night
watchmen, very few and wide apart, were to be heard crying the
hours of night. “Ten o’clock and all’s well !” was a cry that will
be recalled by some who may read these lines. But this served
too well to announce the whereabouts of the watch to nightly

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depredators and was discontinued on that account. Besides
these watchmen, occasionally, when diabolism was specially
prevalent, and always on Saturday night, perhaps, citizen patrol-
men walked the streets until a late hour, sometimes during the
entire night. The town hell rang at nine o’clock p. m. as a
signal when the negroes were to be out of the street, unless by
special and definite permission of their owners. The same hell
regulated the hours for breakfast and dinner, and one hour after
the call to these in each case, the “turn out hell” gave the call
from refreshment to labor.

Every doctor compounded his own prescriptions in those days,
and physicians’ offices were simply drug stores, minus the patent
medicines and perfumery and fancy articles which druggists
keep in stock. The doctor usually charged for his service to a
family a round sum by the year, and made his visits on horse-
back, with his saddlebags containing medicine and invariable
accompaniments; and his lancet, let us not forget, for phlebot-
omy was the universal practice. Senex, Jr.

II.

An esteemed friend, fully and accurately informed, suggests |
correction of the writer’s surmise that the “Horse Pond,” corner
of Eront and Mulberry Streets, was artificially formed, as was j
suggested in the former article, and says that it existed previous
to 1812 ; and further that hoys of seventy or eighty years ago
were wont to swim in its waters.

A buggy was hardly known a few decades ago. The rich trav-
eled in closed carriages, very much lighter, but in appearance
very similar to stages. They were costly, and those in moderate
circumstances contented themselves with horseback riding. This
was the mode of travel generally for both sexes on journeys or
in church attendance, hut two-wheeled vehicles, drawn by one
horse, were sometimes called into requisition; the gig for two
persons and the sulky for one.

How changed school discipline and training of the schools
within the past sixty years or so ! Even good old “Miss” (Mrs.)
“Coxetter” used the birchen rod, and Miss Maggie McLeod, who ;
lingered with us almost until now, and Miss Laura Rankin knew
well its virtue and spared not to apply. In the Old Aeademy
days, before our time, the older citizens hesitated not to tell, j

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165

almost with clenched teeth, how “Old Mitchell” wielded the rod
in a way that would not have disgraced a Comanche. But Jesse
Mulock was bad enough. “Old Mulock” — for to schoolboys
teachers are all old — was a man of powerful grip, and when he
kept over the Hewlett bar, on Front Street, where Craft’s furni-
ture store now stands, or later in the room over French’s shoe
store, where Sol. Bear’s store is now located — in either place he
had a room above that in which the idea was taught to shoot, a
room to which unruly youth were transported to undergo the
horrors of the hickory. We hear little now of chinquapin or
birch or hickory. “The fair, delightful plans of peace” prevail
in the schoolrooms of today and do perhaps as well. But this
must be allowed: if the youths of olden time learned less they
learned it thoroughly. They lost in extent and variety, hut did
they not gain in solidity? In 1840 one went to school eleven
months of the year, barring Saturday and Fourth of July and
Christmas, perhaps, and with Mr. Mulock even Saturday was
liable to be appropriated to map-inspection, or a lecture on
astronomy — a sort of dessert to the intellectual feasts of the
other five days.

Daguerre discovered the art of retaining impressions upon
chemically prepared plates in 1839, and of course daguerreo-
typing was not practically known in Wilmington in 1840. On
the mantelpieces of almost every home were silhouettes ; that is,
profiles cut out of paper or cardboard with more or less neatness
and laid on a black surface. These silhouettes were usually
very accurate likenesses, so far as a side view could be such. The
portraits painted for those who could afford them were some-
times far otherwise. In the early days of the forties traveling
on land was mostly by private conveyance. The four-horse stage-
coach carried mails and passengers on special routes where not
superseded by the few railroads then in existence. The stage
carried one from place to place at a cost of, say 10 cents a mile,
at the rate of six miles an hour, without extra charge for the
bumpings and thumpings experienced. In 1845 one might go
from Wilmington to Hew York in seventy hours, stopping at
each railroad terminus to change cars and recheck (or remark)
baggage. Postages previous to 1845 were 12% cents for a single
sheet of paper and 25 cents for a double sheet. All papers were
folded and sealed with wafers or sealing wax. Postpaid en-
velopes were in use in Paris in the seventeenth century and the
Sardinian States used them in 1818. Stamps were introduced

166

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

into the United States in 1840; the government did not adopt
their use, however, until 1847, although tentatively they were
used in New York in 1845, and an adhesive stamp was used in
St. Louis in the same year. It will readily he understood that
few letters were written when 25 cents was the rate of postage,
and that, as payment was required on receipt of the letter, the
published list of uncalled-for letters was of extraordinary length.
What were known as ship letters sometimes came by vessels into
the port of Wilmington. They were required to he deposited in
the post office, the conveyancer receiving part of the postage.

The mails early in this century were conveyed from place to
place in express transmission, or on more important routes by
post boys, with relays of horses at short distances. The stage-
coach, perhaps at the same time, certainly a little later and until
the advent of railroads, was used as the mail conveyancer. The
route south from Wilmington was across the ferry at foot of
Market Street and the causeway, via Georgetown, S. C., and
Charleston. East, the route then and now — hut not so well
now — was and is known as the New Bern Road. North, the
way seems to have been over Little Bridge, via Waynesboro
(now Goldsboro), and so on. The blowing of the horn announc-
ing the coming stage was a source of infinite delight to the small
hoys of the period, black and white alike.

The change in the character of business transactions in Wil-
mington between 1830 and 1850, though not nearly so great as
that between 1870 and 1890, is nevertheless worthy of note.
The exports in the early thirties were mainly, almost exclu-
sively, lumber, shingles, and staves to the West Indies, and rice,
naval stores, and cotton to the North ; the importations, princi-
pally sugar, molasses, and rum, especially rum. One looking
over the advertisements of those days can hardly fail to he
struck with the amount of Jamaica rum and New England rum
offered for sale. The Washingtonian temperance movement in
the late twenties and throughout the thirties had undoubtedly a
great effect in changing the habits of the people and so in dimin-
ishing the demand for liquors. In course of time the channel
of West Indian trade became in a great measure diverted from
Wilmington. The trade in the forties was not what it had been
in the decade previous.

The means and manner of conducting business in 1840 were
essentially different from what they became a decade or two
later. In every countinghouse of any pretensions there was a

Early Years

167

tall desk with slopes on all four sides and a plane surface on top
to hold the necessary implements or articles for the transaction
of business. Every desk had one or more boxes of wafers and a
stamp for ordinary letter sealing, and sealing wax with the
candle hard by for extraordinary cases. The pen used was
usually the quill, for though the steel pen had been invented
some time before, it had not come into general use ; in fact, in
1840 was quite a rarity. Joseph Gillette patented his improve-
ment in 1831, hut it was slow work to supersede the goosequills
which every school-teacher had to mend for his pupils, generally,
and every hoy had in time to learn to make and mend for him-
self. The box of sand to dry the manuscript — a most annoying
device it was — took the place of blotting paper, which then had
not come into use. Safes there were, of course, pretentiously
dubbed “patent asbestos’’ and “salazuander,” hut they were in-
finitely inferior to the chilled-iron fireproof safes now in use.

A word or two now as to the way traffic, that is the ordi-
nary buying and selling of merchandise, was conducted previous
to 1840, and indeed through the forties and perhaps later. It
must be recollected that most men of means owned slaves ; espe-
cially did farmers and planters own many of them. Then, as
now, planters had regular accounts with the dealers — dealers
rather than factors — and these dealers furnished the planters
with every article, large or small, that they needed. On the
first of January of each year the account of the planter was
made up and presented. He paid it if he chose or such part as
he chose, and a note hearing interest at 6 per cent was given for
the balance. The next year the same process was gone through.
At intervals the entire debt was liquidated, if the debtor chose,
or if the creditor compelled. In general, however, dealers of
means kept their notes as an investment. Occasionally a note
was transferred in the purchase of property, or the notes were
“shaved” to enable a holder to raise cash under stress, hut in
many cases new notes with interest added (and thus com-
pounded) were taken from time to time, usually every year,
and no settlement was made. The death of the maker of the
obligation, however, made a settlement imperative. When he
who owed was found to he getting “shaky,” the note was put
in suit in order to collect, and some property had to he sold, a
negro or two, not improbably, to satisfy the judgment.

The planter upon whose estate debt was thus accumulating
was providing against the evil day by using his money to buy

168

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

negroes or add a few acres here or there to his landed posses-
sions, the natural increase of negroes being of itself a very con-
siderable means of acquiring wealth. The course that was pur-
sued between merchant and planter was based on property, very
much the same as that between the merchant and all persons of
fair credit, who preferred to give their notes to paying their
debts in cash. Annual arrangements were the rule. The banks
discounted good paper to run ninety days ; at the end of the time
they required interest paid and then renewed the paper, and so
on indefinitely. They were happy in thus running credits to
planters for years and compounding the interest every ninety
days. Of course they paid out their own notes (promises to
pay), and, as in fact a very large part of these notes never came
hack for redemption, they made a prosperous business.

Senex, Jr.

III.

Why may we not before getting into matters of more conse-
quence refer to the “moms multicaulis craze” ? The multicaulis
is a variety of the white mulberry, and its leaves were, in days
that are gone, presumably are now, especially esteemed as food 1
for the silkworm. The enthusiasm of its culture did not raise
the hopes nor its collapse produce the dire consequences of the
“tulip craze,” the “South Sea Bubble,” and others that have
come down to us through the corridors of time, and in the early
days of 1840 it had nearly run its rather brief course. At that
time the numerous advertisements offering and belauding it had
about ceased to appear, and those who were to realize fortunes |
from the manufacture of silk had well-nigh ceased to mourn j
over their departed hopes. Still, the moms multicaulis was to
be found, probably, in some of the lots around town, and it had
hardly disappeared from the upland field connected with the
rice farm of Mr. James S. Green, near Kidder’s mill, in which
a few acres had been devoted to its cultivation. I

One of the most important of our industries is truck farming.

Many persons engage in it of course solely with a view to dispos-
ing of their product in this city, hut others raise vegetables and
small fruits almost exclusively, if not entirely, for early ship-
ment to Northern markets. Among the latter are Chinese truck-
men, who raise vegetables hardly considered edible with us, and
ship them directly to factors of their own race, doubtless in

Early Years

169

Philadelphia or New York. But in or about 1840 it was not so.
Very many persons had around their residences sufficient
ground for patches of vegetables, green peas, cucumbers, roast-
ing-ears, and the like, and so many a town lot was really a half-
acre farm. In the nature of things, as the town grew, or rather
as the town had grown, fresh vegetables became a felt want.
When the time and the necessity came into conjunction Mr.
John Barnes appeared on the scene. At the old London corner,
where Solomon now has his store, in market hours Mr. Barnes
could always be found with vegetables in their season, always
the best, too, of their kind. His farm was located quite beyond
the limits, even beyond “Dry Pond,” though it would be reck-
oned in that precinct. It comprised what now is the square
bounded by Queen and Seventh and Wooster and Eighth Streets,
about five acres. On this little plot of bald sand-hill land, by
indefatigable industry and practical skill, Mr. Barnes managed
to support himself and family, not forgetting to give them at
least a good solid English education. Here were raised the first
cabbages ever produced on soil hereabout. In fact, until Mr.
Barnes introduced them it was not supposed that they could be
headed around here. And watermelons — there is no adjective
available to describe them. They were always to be expected on
the Fourth of July, and Barnes’s watermelons and the Gladiator
or the Wilmington or whatever line boat went on the annual
excursion were part and parcel of the celebration of the day.
At the time of which we write Mr. Martindale raised water-
melons also and furnished buttermilk, and it was a time of de-
light to the average boy on a hot summer day when the old
white-covered cart, drawn by the clay-bank mare, the whole
directed by old Aunt Sally Martindale, would be seen coming
around old Jack Green’s corner townward. Mr. Barnes died of
yellow fever on November 14, 1862, aged sixty. To meet in-
creasing demand, the truck gardening in and around Wilming-
ton was developed, of course. Dr. James E. McKee, having
retired from practice, found at Hilton both pleasure and profit
in this kind of farming. F. B. Agnostini afterwards went into
it on the Little Bridge Road near San Souci Plantation. Mr.
Christopher A. Dudley engaged in it at Summerville, below
Greenfield, and John Gafford a mile or two beyond Jump-and-
Kun Branch. And we must not forget old Dr. J. Tognio, who
leased a part of Love Grove Plantation, on Smith’s Creek, a
Frenchman of some attainments, we believe, in a literary way,

170

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

but hardly a success in truck farming. When or whither he
retired is not known to us.

“Say something about schools/’ says a friend, and we are
disposed to comply. What follows must be largely reminiscent.
We would like to speak of some schools, Miss Maggie McLeod’s,
for instance, but could say nothing of personal knowledge. This
much is known, however, that this good old lady, who, well on
in the eighties of her life, left us only a year or two since for
her heavenly home, laid the educational foundation deep and
strong for many of the best citizens of today. The same ought
to be said of the teaching of Miss Laura Rankin, now Mrs.
Rothwell, whose temperance societies and strict moral training
otherwise implanted principles which will tell throughout eter-
nity. Rev. A. P. Repiton, Rev. Mr. Shepherd, and Rev. W. W.
Eells taught schools that were well patronized, but for the reason
given above we can do no more than note them.

The forties were the birchen time in schooling. Methods
were drastic — if that is the word. They had moderated from
the days of Mitchell in the Old Academy, for then the methods
might, without a strain upon language, be called sanguinary.
But there were exceptions. Good old Mrs. Easter Coxetter —
did she whip ? Well, we do not recall it, but the goggles made
out of the “Jack of hearts” — was it? (we are not up on that
nomenclature), we do remember, and a friend whose recollec-
tion is vivid says the three-legged stool and the dunce’s cap were
used. That was not all, however. The dear old lady had us on
Eriday evening to recite the Apostles’ Creed, and maybe the
Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer. And here we took
our first lessons in the Episcopal catechism — and our last. Yes,
she was a dear old lady, a dear old saint, now over half a cen-
tury in heaven. In a former article Mr. Jesse Mulock was
referred to, and we only note here that Wilmington has had few,
if any, better teachers than he.

Cape Fear Lodge, Ho. 2, I. O. O. E., was organized on the
13th of January, 1842 — the place, a room over the grain store
of B. E. Mitchell & Son. The charter members were Gen. Alex-
ander MacRae, W. S. G. Andrews, Willie A. Walker, and
Valentine Hodgson from Weldon Lodge, Ho. 1. Thomas H.
Howey and Levi A. Hart were initiated the same night. The
lodge soon moved its quarters to an upper room of a building on
the corner of the alley next south of the Purcell House. This is
only preliminary to saying that in 1842 a committee consisting

Early Years

171

of Col. John MacRae, Rev. B. L. Hoskins, and Owen Fennell,
Esq., was appointed to report on the propriety of establishing a
school. On June 10, 1843, we quote from the Wilmington
Chronicle , “Trustees of Wilmington Academy resolved to lease
the eastern end of their property to Cape Fear Lodge, Ho. 2,
I. O. 0. F., for twenty-live years for the erection of a school-
house, at an annual rental of a peppercorn.”

The Odd Fellows’ School was established, and a benevolent
work was thus done for Wilmington which ought to be remem-
bered with profoundest gratitude by all who were recipients of
the benefits conferred by the institution. With all books and
stationery furnished, the tuition fee was only $3 a quarter — and
it was a quarter, or well-nigh so — for a scholastic year was then
eleven months. The school was opened in October, 1843, with
Mr. Robert McLauchlin, of Baltimore, principal. Mrs. McLauch-
lin had charge of the female department. Mr. McLauchlin
was tall, strongly built, and well proportioned, without a pound
of superfluous flesh. His hair, which was exceeding scant,
was of a reddish color, and his heard the same. The boys re-
garded him as a veritable Samson. He did not use, too well
we remember — he did not use the ruler as the instrument of
correction. You know there was a firm belief prevalent that a
ruler could he broken by crossing eyelashes in your hand and
moistening them with spittle. Somehow or other the process
always failed, hut that was because the lashes did not lie right,
of course. But Mr. McLauchlin would jerk a hoy up on tiptoe
with his left hand and thrash him with his right. By way of
variation he sometimes threw out his cork leg, drew a boy over
it, and then — hut it is not necessary to he precise on what is
really very much a matter of feeling. Some readers know just
how it was. The writer does.

But there came a day, Monday, the 21st of April, 1845, when
we had gathered at school and were dismissed because our
teacher was too indisposed to he present. We made the welkin
ring with shouts of delight that we were to have a holiday. A
few of us went with Henry and Robert and Billy, the MacRae
hoys, into the woods to enjoy our Indian play, or whatever it
might he, and in a few hours returned to learn that Mr.
McLauchlin was dead. We mourned for him, because we loved
him. He was strict and maybe severe, hut never unjust and
never cruel, and we loved him with a love both strong and true.
He was buried on the lot, northwest corner of Fourth and Hock

172 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Streets, and the Odd Fellows erected a marble shaft to his mem-
ory. His remains and the stone that marked their resting place
were afterwards removed to Oakdale Cemetery.

Mr. Levin Meginney1 succeeded Mr. McLauchlin in charge
of the school, with Mrs. Richardson at the head of the girls’ de-
partment. Mr. Meginney continued in charge until the school
was given up by the Odd Fellows, long after 1850, and then,
buying the property he converted the school building in part
into a dwelling, which he occupied with his family. The school-
house still stands, and the school is continued under the charge
of Prof. Washington Catlett.

In 1846 a classical department was added to the school, in
charge of Mr. Robert Lindsay, a Scotchman and graduate of St.
Andrew’s University, Scotland. He was a thorough classical
scholar, and if proficiency of his pupils is a test — and who will
deny it ? — a good teacher, but as a disciplinarian he was a sad
failure. He had not found his place in school teaching, and
about 1850, having tried it here and elsewhere until that time,
he removed farther South. There he studied law and went
into politics and became governor of Alabama. While in the
Alabama Legislature, in connection with the Internal Improve-
ment Board, of which he was chairman, we think, he was largely
instrumental in building the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and
as governor he raised the bonds of Alabama above those of any
other Southern State at the time.

We now close with naming the first class of the Odd Fellows’
School, about the time of Mr. McLauchlin’ s death: Henry

MacRae, Robert B. MacRae, Robert C. Green, Irving C. Bal-
lard, John D. Taylor, Owen Fennell, Sidney G. Law, Joseph
H. Flanner, William H. Hall, John J. Poisson, Washington C.
Fergus, and John McLaurin. Irving Ballard and Henry Mac-
Rae afterwards taught in the school.

In the classical department under Mr. Lindsay were Sidney
G. Law, Robert B. MacRae, Owen Fennell, Nicholas W.
Schenck, Hardy L. Fennell, Washington Fergus, Alvis Walker,
William H. Bettencourt, John L. Hill, Robert C. Green, Henry
M. Drane, James A. Wright, Daniel Newton, John William
Kelly, Arthur J. Hill, and John McLaurin.

The good work done by the school has been referred to. It
was in its aim and purpose and in its results very like to that

iMr. Meginney’s school is mentioned at greater length elsewhere in
the Chronicles.

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173

done by Mrs. Hemenway, under the management, direction,
and control of Miss Amy M. Bradley, something like a quarter
of a century afterwards. Wilmington ought never to cease to
hold both the one and the other everlastingly in grateful remem-
brance. Senex, Jr.

IV.

Before proceeding to weightier matters let us gather up the
loose-lying threads of memorial thought. Our friend aforesaid
reminds us, on the subject of trucking, that the vegetables
brought into table supply in 1840 were very limited. Lettuce
was brought from Charleston, cabbages, as has been said, were
not raised around here, and tomatoes were “love apples,” pretty
to look upon but not regarded as edible. Strawberries, now to
be had in the height of the season at five cents per quart, were
then 25 cents a saucer, and there were few in a saucer — cream,
however, was thrown in. Hopkins, a little more than two miles
east of the city and a stone’s throw north of the Hew Bern Hoad,
was the resort of courting couples for strawberries and cream,
which suggests that courting was expensive in those days, at
least to the financial partner of the concern.

And on the subject of the militia : how wondrously they were
equipped — with long guns and short guns and rifles and shot-
guns and muskets — all flint and steel, for though percussion
caps were invented as far back as 1818, and had become pretty
well known by 1830 — Colt using them on his repeating pistols
invented in 1836 — yet the United States Government did not
use them before about 1842, and although the army might
easily have been furnished with percussion muskets in the
Mexican War, 1846, General Scott preferred the flint-lock gun,
“considering it dangerous to campaign in an enemy’s country
with an untried weapon.”

Oh, how those flint and steel locks did try the temper and the
patience of the average youth of the days of 1840. See the lark,
well away to be sure, but mounted on a hillock, and his bright
yellow breast exposed invitingly ! Snap goes the flint upon the
steel; he winks his eye and whisks his tail and soars away.
That chance is gone, for the day perhaps. And how tantalizing
it must have been in war, in the very heat of the battle, to have
the flint fail to strike fire or the powder to flash in the pan.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

This accounts for the constant use of bayonets and throws the
needed light upon pictures of the olden time where the musket
is so often seen used as a club.

What became of the court when the courthouse was burned
in 1840 ? Well, for a while the sessions of court were held in
Society Hall, as it was called, a building in the rear of St.
James’s Church, but quite promptly the county magistrates had
the courthouse building erected on Princess Street, the same
building which only about a year or so ago was vacated that the
present elegant and commodious quarters might be occupied.
The jail of 1840 was the building still standing on the north-
east corner of Second and Princess Streets, and now used as a
wagon-making shop.

Judges were elected by the Legislature in 1840 and for over
twenty years thereafter. The office was held for life or during
good behavior unless sooner voluntarily vacated by the occupant.
Commissioners of navigation were appointed by the commis-
sioners of the town of Wilmington. Later in the forties they
were elected by the citizens of Wilmington and so continued to
be for a score or so of years.

The commissioners of the town in 1840 had been elected in
1839. They were named in a previous article. They held
office for two years. So did those elected in 1841, viz. : James
P. McPee, magistrate of police; Armand J. DeRosset, jrv
Thomas W. Brown, Charles D. Ellis, aud John MacRae. In
the Legislature of 1842-1843 a bill was passed “For the better
regulation of the town of Wilmington,” which provided for an-
nual elections of commissioners and increased the number to be
elected to seven. Why this should be decidedly objectionable
does not appear, but it was. The publication of intention for
thirty days, required in such cases, was made in a Raleigh
paper, and it was announced when the bill became a law that
not more than a dozen citizens of Wilmington knew what was
doing, which, compared with some things since, confirms Solo-
mon’s statement that “there is no new thing under the sun.” A
digression may be pardoned here. The same Legislature passed
an act establishing common schools in Horth Carolina and ap-
portioning two districts (of 35 in the county) to Wilmington.
The commissioners selected in January, 1843, under the new
law, were John MacRae, C. D. Ellis, T. W. Brown, Alexander
Anderson, Thomas J. Armstrong, William A. Wright, and
Oscar G. Parsley.

Early Years

175

State elections in 1840 were held on different days in the
various counties. The first was held on July 23 and the last
on August 13 ( Wilmington Chronicle , May 13, 1840). Hyde,
Pitt, Washington, Wayne, and others had voted July 30, 1840
— this was noted in the Chronicle of August 5, 1840. On Au-
gust 12 the paper contained the election news from these coun-
ties, or some of them. Hew Hanover voted on August 13 and
the result was given in the Chronicle of August 19, 1840.
Elections for State officers and members of Congress from that
time to the present have been held on the same day throughout
the State, formerly on the first Thursday in August, latterly
contemporaneously with the presidential election when occur-
ring in the same year.

John M. Morehead was elected governor in 1840 over Rom-
ulus M. Saunders by some 5,000 votes, perhaps more, but the
Legislature was Democratic in both branches.

But 1840 was a grand presidential year. The Whig party,
from a mere coterie having its origin in a Hew York City char-
ter election in 1834, had in six years grown to immense propor-
tions. It had all the enthusiasm of phenomenal growth. The
Democratic party — the party of Andrew Jackson and Martin
Van Buren — had dominated for twelve years past, and had all
the power and prestige pertaining to that fact. Hot a great
while before this at a Tammany meeting in Hew York City two
factions, whom it will suit to call “Regulars” and “Reformers,”
were in high dispute. The “Reformers,” finding themselves
losing ground, turned off the gas, but the “Regulars,” prepared
for the occasion, instantly whipped out a hundred candles from
as many pockets and with the scratch of as many “Loco Eoco”
matches the hall was again alight and the business proceeded.
There were no matches other than “Loco Eoco” in those days,
and this incident, with little good reason seemingly, gave a name
of derision to the Jacksonian or regular Democratic party.

William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were the Whig
nominees for the Presidency. Martin Van Buren, then occupy-
ing the presidential chair, and Richard M. Johnson were the
nominees of the Democratic party. Van Buren was a man of
wealth ; Harrison, if not poor was at least not wealthy, and had
lived in his early days — his friends did not let the people forget
it — in a log cabin. It is said that a Democratic editor, if not
building better than he knew, at least building otherwise than
he intended, said : “Give Harrison a log cabin and a barrel of

176

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

hard cider and he will not leave Ohio.” The Whig party caught
it up and used it for all it was worth, and it was worth hundreds
of thousands of votes. Log cabins sprang up everywhere as the
meeting places for Tippecanoe and Tyler clubs, with the hard
cider always on tap. The first name referred, of course, to the
war record of General Harrison, and “Tippecanoe and Tyler,
too” — “Tip and Ty,” for short — was the slogan of the party.
It was all very taking. The hoys even enjoyed it hugely and
the ladies wore the brass medal with the log cabin and the cider
barrel represented upon it. The writer was a future voter at
the time, and on the off-road prospectively. He became pos-
sessed of a Harrison medal, and it must he confessed was quite
proud of it. A horror-stricken relative soon bought him out,
however, and he never afterwards deflected from his ancestral
principles. But this is too personal, perhaps.

One incident arises very vividly to mind and calls for notice.
A ship full-rigged and beautiful to look upon was built at the
shipyard (now that of Capt. S. W. Skinner), to he taken to
Baleigh to the grand Whig convention rally of the party in
Horth Carolina on October 5. Constitution was the name of
the ship. James Cassiday was on deck as captain, and the
crew were Don MacBae, John Hedrick, John Marshall, Eli
Hall, John Walker, and Mike Cronly — then youths of fifteen
to eighteen years. The last named is the only survivor.

A large delegation of citizens went up from Wilmington to
the convention. Dr. John Hill, from the residence of General
J ames Owen, then standing where now stands the Carolina Cen-
tral Railroad office,, addressed the crew of the ship and the
enthusiastic throng assembled there, and the boat then pro-
ceeded on her trip. By rail she was taken to Goldsboro and
thence by wagon, for lack of rail, to Baleigh. The ship was
left in Baleigh to he given to the county represented in the con-
vention which in the presidential election should give the larg-
est increase in the Whig vote over the Governor’s poll, in pro-
portion to population. Surry County got the ship.

Another incident: The Log Cabin in Wilmington stood just
where George Honnet’s jewelry store now is. The fire of Janu-
ary previous had destroyed the buildings then standing there
and they had not been rebuilt. Many an enthusiastic meeting
had been held in the cabin and many thrilling speeches deliv-
ered ; many rousing songs had been sung, or shouted, and many
a barrel of cider doubtless had been drunk before the eventful

Early Years

177

night of November 5, 1840. On that night, or rather early next
morning, the town was aroused by an explosion. The Log Cabin
had been blown up. There was indignation, righteous indigna-
tion, of course, and plenty of it, and Alexander Anderson,
magistrate of police, offered a reward of $400 for proof suffi-
cient to convict the perpetrator of the deed.

The perpetrator was not caught. Indeed, as the election
came off a very few days thereafter and Harrison and Tyler
went in with a hurrah, receiving 234 electoral votes to Van
Buren’s 60, the matter was, as usual in such cases, suffered to
pass into oblivion, to be resurrected at the hands of an exploring
semi-antiquarian, who may he allowed to subscribe himself,

Senex, Jr.

About 1810 or 1811 the Wilmington Gazette 1 was published
by a Mr. Hasell. The Cape Fear Recorder was established in
the spring of 1818. Later, for several years, it was edited by
Archibald McLean Hooper. Contemporaneously with the Re-
corder for a short time the Wilmington Herald , a Universalist
paper, was published by Rev. Jacob Frieze, assisted, perhaps,
by others. In the Recorder of February 6, 1828, appears a
very suggestive advertisement announcing that the Herald was
necessarily discontinued. On January 9, 1833, appeared the
first number of the People's Press , edited by P. W. Fanning
and Thomas Loring. The Wilmington Advertiser , edited by
H. S. Ellenwood, was published at this time; how long before
this is not known. On April 2 of this year Mr. Ellenwood died.
His reputation as that of a gentleman of scholarly tastes and
aptitudes survives until the present. Mr. Fanning soon learned,
as so many who essay newspaper publication do, that the edi-
torial chair is far from being a post of luxurious ease, and on
May 1, 1833, he laid down the pen after an article in which with
the honesty and frankness characteristic of him he explained
his disgust with the profession, or rather with his experience
of the journalistic life. The People's Press then combined with
the Advertiser , having as sole editor, Mr. Thomas Loring. On

irrhis account of Wilmington newspapers is published, notwithstand-
ing a fuller account elsewhere in the Chronicles, because of much inti-
mate information here given which is supplementary to the longer
article on this subject.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

January 8, 1836, the name People’s Press was dropped and
the paper appeared as number one, volume one, of the Wil-
mington Advertiser. The Press and the Press and Advertiser
had been known as ultra- Jacksonian papers. The Advertiser
as successor had become exceedingly moderate, if not independ-
ent in its tone, and on the 27th of May Mr. Loring retired.
Here is a gap in our history; Mr. Loring sold out and presum-
ably the Advertiser was continued. Trace of it is found in
1839 and 1840, and the valedictory of Mr. Frederick C. Hill,
under whose editorial management it was published during
these last years, appeared in the issue of May 27, 1841. The
paper ceased to exist from that date. Mr. Hill was highly edu-
cated, a gentleman of refined manners and scholarly tastes and
reputed to have wielded the pen in a telling way. It is to he
regretted that the files of the Advertiser are lost; not even a
single number of the paper is within reach. This paper was
intensely, not necessarily violently, Whig in politics.

The Wilmington Chronicle was established by Asa A. Brown
March 12, 1839. Mr. Brown had for many years been a mer-
chant in Wilmington and presumably was a novice in journal-
ism, but from the first the Chronicle was ably edited, and dur-
ing the dozen or more years of its existence it did yeoman ser-
vice in advocating and defending the principles of the Whig
party. Of the Wilmington Messenger, edited by Hr. William
J. Price in advocacy of Democratic principles, nothing accurate
can be learned. That it was published in May, 1843, is known,
and reference to it in the Chronicle of April 3, 1844, shows that
it was in existence at that time. In the same way it is known
that the Wilmington Journal , its successor, was published in
November of the same year. The Messenger, material and good
will, it is understood, between the dates last named and probably
after the presidential election of 1840, passed into the hands of
Messrs. David Fulton and Alfred L. Price. These gentlemen
published the Journal until the death of the former, when his
brother, James Fulton, took editorial charge. The Journal
(weekly) has continued to this day, and is now owned and
edited by Joshua T. James, Esq. The Daily Journal under
Messrs. Fulton and Price did not appear until sometime in the
early fifties and does not come, within our scope. Of Dr. Price’s
management and success we can not speak knowingly, but doubt
not the paper was altogether satisfactory to the Democratic
party, whose principles it championed. The Fultons were ex-

Early Years

179

ceptionally able in their profession, Irishmen, native horn, if we
mistake not, and their paper wielded great influence throughout
the Cape Fear section and beyond.

Mr. Loring, formerly editor of the Advertiser , published the
Independent in Raleigh for a while from early in July, 1843;
but in February, 1846, he returned to Wilmington and with
Mr. William Stringer published the Tri-W eekly Commercial
Review. They claimed that their paper was Whig in politics,
but independently so. It was published well into the fifties,
whither we do not follow it.

Other papers may have been published, but if such is the case
no information concerning them is now available. Perhaps
these articles may bring to light something essential to a com-
plete history of these matters. It will be gladly welcomed.
Whether or not the Wilmington Christian Herald , to be pub-
lished by Samuel Chandler, ever materialized does not appear.
The prospectus was published in 1839.

It is usual to decry the avidity with which the papers of the
nineties gather up the most trivial matters of local happening,
but one who gleans from the papers of “auld lang syne” can not
but wish they had possessed the disposition complained of.
Very many matters that would go far to throw light upon the
people or the times of those days apparently were too well
known to need be chronicled, and so many an important link to
history is wanting. The local editor and the ubiquitous re-
porter were not known in those days.

And now let us get more definitely and distinctly into the
forties, leaving any digressions to come in incidentally. Time,
Wednesday, January 1, 1840. Place, intersection of Front and
Market Streets. Occasion, annual hiring of negroes. Various
colors were there, black perhaps predominating. It was a time
of times, a busy time, for in a few hours all the domestic ar-
rangements depending on servitude were to be unsettled and for
twelve months rearranged. Many a housewife had been looking
to the first of the year in the hope of a change that would give
her more of ease and less perhaps of labor than she had enjoyed
or suffered during the year just past, and many a servant had
been bearing with more or less of patience, longingly looking to
a change of master or of mistress. Some were to be bettered,
some to be worsted, but the star of hope was over all, and though
there would be rain — was there ever a first without rain ? — and
though it had passed into a proverb that the heavens wept on

180

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

hiring day for the deeds of darkness done, still it was hardly to
be reckoned a day of sadness or of gloom. Uncertainty there
was, and with uncertainty a doubt akin to fear, yet over all and
above all the star of hope arose. There were some tears, but
there were many smiles. There was some gloom as one went to
a master always reckoned hard, and there was also gladness as
another went to his or her chosen place of servitude. Owners
in general heard the complaints of their slaves, and in tender-
ness and sympathy as well as from self-interest provided for
them; they saw that they were fed and clothed or they would
know the reason why.

But, whether bright or dark, those days are gone, and who
would bring them hack ? And yet it is easier to call them wrong
than to prove them so.

In 1840, as has been said, Wilmington contained 4,268 souls.
Of these 1,004 were white males and 916 white females. Of
free colored people there were 356, of slaves 1,992. Mr. Alex-
ander Anderson was magistrate of police. At that date every
little town or village did not aspire to he governed by a mayor,
and despite the title of the chief officer, guardsmen were simply
town guards and not policemen or police. Mr. Anderson had
resided in Wilmington just forty years; he arrived here from
the North January 1, 1800. He was at the time president of
the Branch Bank of the State, and was occupying or had occu-
pied every office of honor or trust the citizens could confer upon
him. He rises before our memory as very like his son, Hr.
Edwin A. Anderson, who was taken from us but a year or two
ago. Quite as venerable he was in appearance; indeed, for
years before his death he was known as “Old Mr. Sandy Ander-
son.” He died November 15, 1844, at the age of sixty.

James E. McRee, Armand J. HeBosset, sr., E. P. Hall, and
W. J. Harriss had been elected town commissioners in 1839 and,
save Hr. Harriss, who died in the spring of 1839, were still in
office. Senex, J r.

VI.

It might properly have been mentioned in connection with the
history of newspapers published in Wilmington, that the Chron-
icle in the opening days of 1840 was printed in a building stand-
ing where the shoe store of Peterson & Rulfs now stands, on the
west side of Front Street, a very few yards above Market. The

Early Years

181

building was destroyed by fire in January of that year, and dis-
continuance of the paper was enforced for eight or ten weeks.
When revived the printing and publishing quarters were in a
warehouse in the alley north of the Cape Fear Bank building
until June, 1840, when the office was reestablished in a building
which had been erected on the old site. Here it continued
through the forties, and until it ceased to appear.

The Wilmington Journal, in the fall of 1844, was published
in the Bettencourt Building, corner Front and Princess Streets,
now occupied by I. H. Weil. The Journal Building, on Prin-
cess Street, was built for it when it launched out into publica-
tion of the daily edition, and there it remained for probably a
quarter of a century or more.

The Tri-Weekly Commercial was published by Stringer &
Whitaker — not Boring & Stringer as we stated — on the south-
west corner of Front and Market in what was long afterwards
known as the Commercial Building, and which is now occupied
by the confectionery establishment of Mrs. E. Warren & Son.
The offices and pressroom were in an upper story, the lower
being occupied as a dry-goods store by Kahnweiler Brothers.
For the convenience of the public, the arrivals of the mails then
being exceedingly irregular, there stood upon the roof of the
Commercial Building a flagstaff from which a flag floated at the
proper times, with the word ‘‘Steamboat” in white letters upon
a blue ground, or “Cars” in white upon a red ground, thus an-
nouncing that the mails had arrived and soon would be at the
disposal of the public.

Some information has come to hand relative to Mr. William
Soranzo Hasell, who edited the Wilmington Gazette: He was
born in Wilmington and here lived and died. Graduated from
Yale College in 1799, being then only eighteen years of age, he
studied for the profession of law, but soon abandoned it and for
a time kept a bookstore and circulating library, afterwards along
with this occupation editing the Gazette until 1815, when he
died, aged thirty-four. In 1840 there stood on the southwest
corner of Third and Ann Streets — set well back from either
street and fronting on Ann — a house showing decided marks of
the ravages of time, but still a building of massive proportions,
pink-stuccoed, and bearing indications otherwise, especially
taken along with the surroundings, of having been the residence
of people of wealth. It was known at the period of which we
write as the “Williams Castle,” but was understood to have been

182

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

formerly the property of a Mr. Hasell, almost certainly of the
gentleman of whom we have been writing or his parents.

Of the physicians of Wilmington in 1840 Dr. John D. Bel-
lamy alone survives. Mentally his how still abides in strength,
and the chances and changes of well-nigh fourscore years have
not otherwise in the main dealt unkindly with him. He came
to Wilmington late in the thirties, studied with Dr. William J.
Harriss, and at the death of Dr. Harriss, in 1839, succeeded to
his extensive and laborious practice. In May, 1846, Dr. Wil-
liam W. Harriss was taken into copartnership, and in the course
of three or four years Dr. Bellamy retired and devoted himself
to other business, principally farming. He owned large estates,
the work of superintending and managing which was quite as
lucrative as medical practice, and far less toilsome.

The loss of a physician in large practice for obvious reasons
causes deeper sorrow, and sorrow more extensive in its reach,
than that of any other member of a community, not even faith-
ful pastors being excepted, and this affection, which entwines
around the hearts of those who receive the doctor’s services,
doubtless is the great compensation for the privations and trials
and strains upon the sympathetic nature which inevitably attend
medical practice. Especially must this be so in villages and
smaller towns, where physicians come into closer social rela-
tions than in the larger cities. These observations apply with
special force to the loss sustained in the death of Dr. Harriss,
who has been referred to, and of others who are yet to be
mentioned.

Dr. Armand J. DeBosset, sr., in 1840 was seventy-three
years of age, and still in vigorous practice. He had been for a
quarter of a century in charge of the Seamen’s Hospital and
continued in service until late in the fifties, practicing on horse-
back when ninety years of age. He died in 1859, aged ninety-
two.

Dr. J ames E. McRee, sr., was, like Dr. DeBosset, not only a
skillful and beloved physician, but one of the most influential
citizens of his day. It has been noted that both these gentle-
men were commissioners of the town in 1840. In 1840, and
possibly for years thereafter, Dr. McRee was magistrate of
police, the chief officer of the place. On April 26, 1843, he
took into copartnership his son, Dr. J. E. McRee, jr., and not a
great while after retired to enjoy abundant and well-earned rest,

Early Years

183

while engaging in the scientific studies to which he was natur-
ally disposed and in which he greatly delighted.

Before settling in Wilmington Dr. William A. Berry had
been in the medical service of the United States. He retired
from practice in the later fifties with ample means. He suc-
ceeded Dr. DeBosset as hospital physician in 1845, and died
in 1875.

The profession did not hold Dr. Edwin A. Anderson continu-
ously in its practice. In 1840 and for a year or two thereafter
he followed it, and then went into sawmilling and afterwards
into merchandizing and turpentine distilling. Subsequently he
resumed practice and was engaged in it up to, or nearly up to,
his death, about a year ago.

The recollections of the writer as concerns the doctors of
fifty-five years ago are more vivid regarding Dr. Louis J.
Poisson, perhaps, than any other. He comes before the mind,
not very distinctly, it is true, as of medium height, spare in
figure, with an intellectual cast of countenance and features
rather sharp, though not unpleasantly so. A gentleman of
affable manners without the least suspicion of lack of frankness,
one whose gentleness would win a hoy of eight or ten, even in
spite of the dread which must needs accompany his ministra-
tions. For a while before the death of Dr. Poisson he was quite
infirm in health. In 1842 or 1843 he took into copartnership
Dr. James H. Dickson, who had returned from Hew York City,
and October 26, 1843, he died at the early age of thirty-four.

It has been said that fifty or sixtj^ years ago physicians com-
pounded their own prescriptions and practiced on horseback.
The diseases they had to meet were not those which are now
encountered, nor the medicines they used the same as now. The
old-fashioned bilious fever was a terror in those days. We now
never hear it mentioned. Those were the days of bloodletting
and of cataplasms. Salts and senna and calomel and jalap were
household articles, and the children in the spring were regularly
called up to receive the matutinal dose of aloes. Quinine was
hardly known and Peruvian bark had to do its work, along with
dogwood bitters and other things which now will hardly be
found in the pharmacopoeia.

Ho profit was to be had certainly in taking medical care of
the poor of the county and furnishing the medicines for them at
$50 a year, yet that was all allowed for the service. The slaves,

184:

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

however, who were over half the population, were provided for
by their masters.

What has been written has referred only to the regular allo-
pathic practice. Homeopathy, though Hahnemann had done
and suffered in behalf of his principle of similia for thirty
years or more, was not known here. The Thompsonian Botanic
practice, in which number six figured conspicuously, was repre-
sented by Dr. W. H. Buffaloe, who held forth on Second Street,
near what is now called Meginney’s corner, as the successor of
one Dr. Foy who had engaged in similar practice about this time.

The county poorhouse throughout the forties stood on the
square bounded by Fourth, Walnut, Fifth, and Bed Cross
Streets. It was located near the center of the square and was
the only house within the area. But the “Poorhouse Square,”
as it was called, was not the only one upon which a single build-
ing stood on guard, as it were, to all the space around. The
“Thunder-and-Lightning House” occupied in 1840 a similar
position on the square bounded by Fourth, Orange, Fifth, and
Dock Streets. The peculiar name attached to the building, it
has always been supposed, was because of its having several
times received the bolts of the elements. On the square upon
which the First Presbyterian Church now stands there was in
1840 but one house occupied by white people. That was the
building, pulled down a few years ago, which stood immediately
in the rear of the church and which was purchased, with the
land upon which the house of worship stands, from the late A.
H. VanBokkelen. The house now owned and occupied by Capt.
John F. Divine, was owned by Mr. Aaron Lazarus in 1840 and
was the only dwelling on that square. The greater part of the
square, all owned by Mr. Lazarus and known as the Lazarus
lot, was a delightful grove, where, by the kind permission of the
owners, Queen of May celebrations were held. Possibly other
localities might be cited like to these, but it is unnecessary. The
town was not compactly built and some not yet in their seventies
remember picking chinquapins where the synagogue now stands,
gathering persimmons in the “Old ?76” lot on Ann between
Front and Second, or picking low-bush huckleberries on Church
hear Fourth. Here and there all over the present city are
dwelling-houses that were built many years before 1840. On
Market the present residence of Dr. A. J. DeBosset is one of
them — in 1840 and long before occupied by Dr. A. J. DeBosset,
sr. Opposite, on the southwest corner of Market and Third,

Early Years

185

still stands the house which was the headquarters of Lord Corn-
wallis in 1781. The building on the northeast corner also dates
back a hundred years or so — so the building adjoining on the
east and others in the same locality. The present residence of
Mr. M. Cronly and some others on that square go back many
decades; indeed, one might count a full half score between
Orange and Ann, Fifth Street and the river. So on the west
side of Second Street between Market and Dock are houses that
carry us back to the days of yore. In 1840 Mr. Murdock
McKay lived in one, a Mrs. Bishop in another. Around the
corner on Dock going towards the river are two residences of
the kind we are speaking of. It is not necessary to mention
others; they can, when built of wood, easily be distinguished.
Whenever the sides are built of common three-inch cypress or
juniper shingles they go hack almost certainly well on to a cen-
tury in age — sometimes over. The brick store on the southwest
corner of Front and Princess, occupied by I. H. Weil, and the
wooden buildings on the southwest corner of Market and Second
Streets along the southern line of Market, known as the Betten-
court property, might be termed fire repellers. The flames have
surged around them time and again hut have never left even the
smell of fire upon them.

The buildings mentioned, and others, have been more or less
modernized from time to time, sometimes to the extent of entire
transformation. But the dwelling-house on the southwest corner
of Fifth and Orange Streets, now owned and occupied by Rev.
Daniel Morrelle, in 1840 the residence of Gen. Alexander
MacRae, and years before that of Mr. Davis, the father of Hon.
George Davis, is very likely more nearly now what it was one
hundred years ago than any other residence in the city.

Before we leave this subject let us call attention to the fact
that on the organization of St. John’s Lodge of Masons, say
one hundred years ago, they occupied the old Brown building
on the south side of Orange between Front and Second Streets.
The lodge was afterwards removed to the corner of Front and
Chestnut Streets — southwest corner — and again to Front near
Red Cross, where early in 1841 the building was sold and con-
verted into a hotel kept by David Jones — not the proprietor of
that dread place so well known to seamen as “Davy Jones’s
locker.” In the same year, 1841, the lodge found rest from its
wanderings in its present location on Market Street.

One of the most noted buildings of “auld lang syne,” which

186

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

was razed to the ground only a few years since to give place to
the dwellings on the east side of Front Street, between Orange
and Ann, was the “Old ?76.” It was a large two^story brick
building, stuccoed white, with wide piazzas above and below
running all the way around. It sat right upon the run of Tan
Yard Branch, and its first floor was several feet lower than the
present level of Front Street. It was a sailor hoarding house,
but was utilized by the politicians of the early days as a rallying
place for their forces on the eve of exciting elections.

Senex, Jr.

VII.

Attention has been called to the fact that in enumerating
buildings of great age or of peculiar construction the residence
of the late John Walker, Esq., is worthy of being considered.
This building stood near the center of the square bounded by
Front, Princess, Second, and Chestnut Streets, fronting on
Princess. Set back well from the street, it had a very spacious
yard in front. The house was built of brick, had a double piazza
— such is the recollection of the writer — and was covered with
Dutch tiles in corrugated form. There is reason to believe it
was built in 1781. It had been tenantless for a long time pre-
vious to its destruction, which was several years ago.

It may as well he confessed here that the list of hoys in the
classical school of Mr. Robert Lindsay — which list was given
recently — was sadly defective in omitting the names of Oscar
G. Parsley and David S. Cowan, those truly good hoys.

In the early forties the judges of the Superior Courts were
Dick, Manly, Settle, Battle, Bailey, Rash, and Pearson. Some
of these afterwards attained eminence in the Supreme Court.
The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, commonly known as
the County Court, had a session each spring, summer, fall, and
winter. Attorneys were licensed first to practice here, and later,
very soon after ordinarily, received license to practice in the
Superior Courts. The last County Court held in Hew Hanover
in the name of the King was held on January 2, 1776, and the
next court was on January 7, 1777. The justices present were
George Moore, William Purviance, John Robinson, Timothy
Bloodworth, Sampson Moseley, John Lillington, Samuel Swann,
John Ancrum, William Wilkinson, William Jones, and John
DuBois. They were commissioned by the Governor, and after

Early Years

187

duly organizing they elected two inspectors for Wilmington and
a sheriff for the county. Jonathan Dunbibin was elected regis-
ter in place of Adam Boyd, who held the position under the old
regime. We digress here to say that this Adam Boyd formerly
edited the Cape Fear Mercury , which appeared in Wilmington
October 13, 1769, and was discontinued in 1775.

The county justices seem to have undergone little or no change
throughout their entire existence of nearly a century. In ordi-
nary trial sessions, one magistrate presided, having on the bench
with him two or three other magistrates. The position of chair-
man, or chief magistrate, required considerable legal knowledge
and invested one with a good deal of power. Col. James T.
Miller and Mr. William A. Wright held the post and performed
the duties admirably for years.

Hot one of the resident lawyers of 1840 is now living. Mr.
M. London, who died quite recently, had been engaged in mer-
chandizing for several years before he entered upon the practice
of law. He was licensed to practice about January 1, 1840, and
was one of the ablest lawyers who ever practiced at the bar in
Hew Hanover County. Owen Holmes died suddenly in June,
1840. Messrs. William A. Wright, Joshua G. Wright, T. C.
Miller and Daniel B. Baker lived and practiced throughout the
forties. Mr. George Davis was admitted to practice very early
in 1841 ; afterwards John London, who died soon after licen-
sure; and Griffith J. McBee still later; Thomas D. Meares,
James A. Peden, John A. Lillington, T. Burr, jr., Hill Bur-
gwyn, Thomas D. Walker, David Fulton, William Hill, John L.
Holmes, and others whose names are not at hand. Mr. William
B. Meares, one of the strongest members of the bar, had retired
before 1840 to give attention to other interests. He died Octo-
ber 11, 1842. Messrs. David Reid and Hardy Lucian Holmes
came to Wilmington from other counties. They stood high on
the roll of attorneys.

In those days the whipping post was an instrument or an in-
stitution or a means for punishment of offenders — a most effi-
cient one, too. It savored of barbarity undoubtedly and was ter-
ribly degrading, still there are crimes for which the whipping
post is and ever will be the only befitting punishment. As to
barbarity, it does not approach in that respect the public stran-
gling to death of human beings. This was universal in those
days, and even now is tolerated in Horth Carolina where the
county commissioners find a public demand for it. Happily the

188

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

day is past when any such heathenism can he exhibited in New
Hanover County.

Many now living will remember that Charles, a slave of
P. K. Dickinson, was publicly hanged between Seventh and
Eighth Streets about midway and a few yards back of the south-
ern line of the street. A few years later Thomas Broughton
was hanged on the square to the north and just opposite for the
murder of a Portuguese named De Silva. A curious incident is
connected with the trial and execution of Broughton. F or quite
a while no clue could be found leading to the detection of the
assassin of De Silva. But Broughton, why so impelled is not
known, went before the grand jury and attempted to criminate
another man. His examination brought suspicion upon himself
and led to further investigation. Articles that had belonged to
De Silva were found in his possession and other criminating cir-
cumstances were brought to light. He was tried and on purely
circumstantial evidence was convicted. An appeal was taken to
the Supreme Court on the ground of inadmissibility of the testi-
mony of the foreman of the grand jury above referred to, which
testimony was given on the trial. This was the grand jury be-
fore the one that indicted Broughton. The higher court over-
ruled the objection and Broughton was hanged. He protested
his innocence on the gallows. Nevertheless, the impression was
well-nigh universal that he was guilty of the crime for which he
suffered.

The courthouse on the first of January, 1840, stood at the
intersection of Front and Market Streets, say about 50 feet
across Front and about 75 or 80 feet across Market. The brick
pavement, answering to the lower floor of a residence, was about
one foot, possibly a little more, above the level of the street. A
broad arch gave entrance at either end on Front Street. On the
sides running across Market a small arch in the center served
as entrance, and on each side of this arch and on both sides of
the building were similar arches across which were benches,
rather shelves, serving as seats. The boys of that day found
delight in playing in and around this part of the courthouse,
and the older ones met there in the hot summer afternoons to
discuss politics and save the country.

The court room proper and such other rooms as were necessary
were in the upper story and were reached by a stairway located
in the southwest corner. The building was constructed of brick
and was painted bright yellow on the outside, trimmed with

Early Years

189

white and painted white on the inside. By an act of the Legis-
lature of 1756, the courthouses of the State were to he used for
all public purposes. Somewhere about 1843 or 1844 the County
Court, overlooking this or in ignorance of it, prohibited political
meetings in the courthouse, but they were very soon set back on
the matter.

The town hall in 1840 stood at the intersection of Market and
Second Streets, and was in structure very much like the court-
house, though not provided with seats, we think, for the comfort
of loungers. It was open below and paved, and may at one time
have been used as a market house in the lower part. The locality
went by the name of “Mud Market.” The market house of the
writer’s day was a most unsightly structure which stood on Mar-
ket Street between Front Street and the river, about 150 feet
from Front Street and running back some fifty or sixty feet. It
was built of brick. The pavement serving for the floor was
reached by mounting a large piece of ton timber which served
for a step. The entrance was a wide arch, and the entire roof
was supported by pillars forming the upright sides of arches.
At the farther end, because of elevation in consequence of slope
of the streets, were a platform and stairs as means of entrance
and exit. Under this end of the market house was a room which
at one time served as a guardhouse. This building gave place
in the spring of 1848 to a market house on the same site; a very
great improvement in appearance and in suitableness for its
purpose. It was 25 feet wide and about 100 to 125 feet long,
with a roof of galvanized iron resting on light iron pillars. In
turn this gave place some twenty years later to the present one
on Front Street.

William Henry Harrison was nominated on December 4,
1839, as the Whig candidate for President. A meeting to ratify
the nomination was held in the courthouse on the night of Janu-
ary 16, 1840, and was addressed by delegates who had returned
from the nominating convention. On the morning of the 18th
the courthouse was in ashes. About midnight, or a little before,
of the 17th a fire broke out in the store of John Dawson on the
northeast corner of Front and Market Streets and rapidly swept
into ruin all the houses on the entire square except the building
(which is still there) on the southeast corner of Front and Prin-
cess and the dwelling-house of Mr. J. P. Calhorda immediately
in the rear. The flames crossed Front Street and were arrested
at the Bank of Cape Fear building in their progress north. But

190 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

they swept off everything between the corner of Front Street
and the river and destroyed every building on the river front.
On the square where the fire originated the Clarendon Hotel
stood on the present site of the Purcell House, and the post office
was a room on the alley. Wilkings’ stables, as they were called,
though Winslow S. Wilkings had died in October, 1837, stood
where Fennell’s stables are now. The northern side of Market
Street was then as now occupied by grocery and dry-goods and
other stores; and on the alleys were dwellings, as well as on
Front, Market, and Princess Streets. In many cases those
dwellings were rooms above the stores.

On the other square, at the corner just across from Dawson’s,
stood the shop (office it would now be called) of Dr. Armand J.
DeRosset, sr. This was consumed with the Chronicle office just
north of it and the dry-goods and general sales stores of Wright
and Savage, John Wooster, Samuel Shuter, C. B. Miller, Daniel
Dickson, Kelly & McCaleb, and others on the line of Market
Street, the custom house, then standing on the same site as now,
the store and warehouses of Aaron Lazarus, and the business
houses of many others on Water Street, north of Market.

The shop of Dr. DeRosset was entered by a row of steps
cornering on Market and Front Streets, and running up some
six or eight feet from the street. The custom house is not re-
membered by the present writer, to whom the river front at that
time was forbidden ground. The customs were collected and
the business appertaining thereto transacted for a while after
the fire in a room just where is now the office of A. S. Heide,
Esq., Danish vice consul. At this time Gen. Louis H. Mar-
steller was collector of customs. Afterwards the custom house
was on North Water Street between Princess and Chestnut
Streets. Mr. W. C. Lord was collector here under appointment
of President Tyler, but in a few months, the President having
changed his political status, Mr. Lord was superseded by Mr.
Murphy V. J ones. The present custom house became ready for
occupancy during Mr. Jones’s incumbency of the collectorship,
or possibly a very little while before he entered upon its duties,
say in the latter part of 1842 or early in 1843.

One incident connected with this fire every one then in his
teens or older very vividly remembers — the blowing up of Philip
Bassadier. In those days when water had to be pumped into
and thrown from fire engines by the hardest kind of physical
labor, it might seem unnecessary to say that other means than

Early Years

191

throwing water had to be resorted to to stay the progress of the
flames. The most efficient means then known was the blowing
up of buildings by gunpowder — no dynamite then. This work
was, if not in 1840, certainly afterwards, confided to persons of
discretion who received their authority direct from the town
commissioners. It became necessary to resort to the means re-
ferred to in the Dawson fire, and in blowing up some buildings
about the center of the square, where the fire originated, Philip
Bassadier went up. He was taken off terribly bloody and very
seriously wounded, it was supposed at the time mortally
wounded. But Philip, who, by the way, was one of the politest
of men, albeit not of the Caucasian race, lived to be the admira-
tion of the small boys of the period, and to furnish music for
pleasure-loving youths for many years. But of this we may
come to speak at another time. Senex, Jr.

(Since writing the above a letter has been received from one
unusually informed and accurate on local matters of the olden
time, and who, but for the disrespect seemingly attached, and
the utter incongruity of association, might be called “Old
Hick.” It will receive due attention hereafter.)

VIII.

The friend referred to in the last article furnishes some cor-
rections or additions from very accurate remembrance, and
place is gladly given them. He was a pupil of Miss Laura
Rankin (since Mrs. Roth well) when she taught in what was
and is known as Horthrop’s Alley, running through from Front
to Second Street between Dock and Orange. Other boys were
George Harriss, Mike Cronly, Eli Hall, Henry Law, and of a
younger set, Hehemiah Harriss, John Morris, Dick Savage,
Hick Schenck, and so on. Girls in the same school were Sarah
Peck, Augusta Law, Emily Howard, Fanny Lippitt, Caroline
VanViel, Caroline and Clarissa Horthrop, Mag and Kate
McLaurin, Aletta Jane Schenck, Sarah and May Savage, Har-
riet and Caroline Brown, and others. Mr. Walsh, later a Pres-
byterian minister, afterwards taught in the same place.

We are reminded, too, that Mr. Jesse Mulock, who came from
Orange, H. Y., first taught in a house on the site now occupied
by Burr and Bailey, and afterwards where mentioned in a
former article. His school became very prosperous and he

192

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

brought out his brother Charles (was it not John?), but was
driven from the field by the Odd Fellows5 School, He then went
into the shipping commission business, having for his clerk An-
thony D. Cazaux. Afterwards, he engaged in turpentine distill-
ing, and finally returned North, where he died in a good old age.

Mr. Mulock’s principle in teaching was thoroughness. There
were no heads nor tails to his classes. Boys came up to the front
bench to recite and standing erect were questioned, or went to
the blackboard to do the “sums,” as the problems in mathemat-
ics were called. Smith’s grammar was used and Walker’s dic-
tionary. A part of speech was named and parsed, with the rea-
son why for everything. A word was spelled and defined, and
a sentence constructed with the word properly used therein.
There was no precise verbal memorizing required, and there
could be no dodging nor evasion. The chinquapin was always
ready for use and was in frequent demand. Boys were detained
sometimes until long after nightfall, as “Nick” puts it, “staying
in until perfect, even to the bringing of your candle for night
study.” Being a very small boy, the writer was excused from
night service. Day’s algebra, we thought, was the hardest alge-
bra to be sure. It most certainly tried one’s intellectual calibre
more than Davies’, which was used in the Odd Fellows’ School.
But we are reminded that Mr. Mulock was patient with all boys
and helpful to all, even while he required good conduct and
exacted perfect lessons.

As to Madame Clement’s and Miss Yerina Moore’s schools,
about which we are asked, they came on after the forties — that
is our recollection. Miss Yerina afterwards married Dr. B. H.
Chapman, a Presbyterian minister, taught school in Goldsboro,
perhaps also in Asheville, and died at the latter place a few
years since.

Our last article closed with the blowing up of Philip Bassa-
dier. He was, as has been said, of mixed blood and appears to
have come to Wilmington from one of the West Indian Islands
long before the days of the forties. At that time he was recog-
nized as a character. He was exceedingly Frenchy in his polite-
ness and doubtless the only tonsorial artist in the town. At least
the following advertisement, which appeared in the Chronicle
of November 1, 1843, would indicate that then for the first time
Walsh Bevells or some one else was making his opposition felt.
Here is Philip’s ad., after an announcement of his readiness to
serve the public : “He has carried on this business in Wilming-

Early Years

193

ton for upwards of forty years, which he thinks some evidence
of merit in the use of razors and scissors, and as giving him
some claim to public patronage/’ There seems to be force in the
claim. Philip, with his grey-white kinky hair, brown com-
plexion, and knee breeches — well, maybe not — looms up before
us now. His shop stood at the corner of the alley next north of
Boatwright’s store, on the precise site of that store in fact, a
small one-story wooden building with the inevitable striped pole
in front, and there he was to he found presumably for forty
years before 1843. The shop was destroyed by fire on the early
morning of November 26, 1846. Perhaps too much time and
space are given to Philip Bassadier, hut he can not be dismissed
without reference to his musical ability, displayed as violinist
on festive occasions of all kinds, at the theatres, etc., and espe-
cially of his services as bugle man to the Clarendon Horse
Guards about 1845. and later. The Horse Guards, under com-
mand of Hr. James F. McRee, jr., and later of Capt. William
C. Howard, to the small hoys of the period stood as representa-
tive of military pomp and prowess, hut the company itself did
not call forth more admiration than Philip Bassadier as, early
in the morning on the day of the “turn out,” he blew his bugle
at one street corner, then in a gallop rushed to another, reined
up, and again awakened the echoes with his blast. We see him
now in his cocked hat and red flannel coat and note the beaming
pride on his countenance, and we almost hear the shouts of de-
light of the urchins enjoying it all.

The Wilmington Volunteers on April 30, 1840, celebrated
their ninth anniversary. They were then in command of Junius
H. Gardner. Afterwards Capt. O. G. Parsley was chief in com-
mand, and previously, probably, Capt. John MacRae. This
company was the pride of our town in those days, and on the
anniversaries it always had target practice at Hogg’s Folly, and
thereafter marched through the streets, the well-torn target in
the rear and the best marksman, usually Billy Burch, or Mr.
Jimmy, his brother, conspicuous in the ranks by reason of the
yellow plume which decorated his cap and proclaimed his skill.
The New Hanover Rifle Corps paraded the first time Novem-
ber 3, 1841, with R. F. Brown as captain, R. G. Rankin, first
lieutenant, J. B. Cumming, second lieutenant, and Louis H.
Pierce, third. In 1846, about June, the Wilmington Guards
were formed, with James Anderson, captain, Alexander Mac-
Rae, jr., first lieutenant, Henry Nutt, second lieutenant, and

194

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

James Burch, orderly sergeant. These companies might come
and they might go, but it was the militia ununiformed — not
necessarily uninformed — that rolled on forever. The Thirtieth
Regiment of North Carolina Militia, under command of Col.
John MacRae, and afterwards of others, was a great institution.
The upper division paraded at Long Creek and the lower divi-
sion assembled annually at Wilmington in the fall of the year.
On this review Brigadier General Marstellar came out with his
staff and sometimes Maj. Gen. Alexander MacRae with his.
Colonel Andrews, Col. James T. Miller, Col. John MacRae,
Maj. W. N. Peden, and maybe others graced these occasions.
It was a time of times for the boys. The Wilmington Militia,
with Dr. Billy Ware as orderly sergeant in front, stretching his
abbreviated limbs to keep the regulation step, was a conspicuous
part. The parade took place in what was then called “Ore-
gon.” It was about the time that the Oregon boundary question
was up, and the politicians shouted for “phifty-four phorty or
phight,” and afterwards fell back to “phorty-nine.” In “Ore-
gon”— that is about where the Chestnut Street Presbyterian
Church now stands, or a little north of it.

The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Company was char-
tered by the Legislature early in 1834. On January 1, 1836,
announcement was made that $200,000 had been subscribed to
the capital stock, and when $300,000 should he subscribed the
company would he organized and work commenced. Work was
commenced in October of the same year, and after struggling
against difficulties such as are not known in these latter days,
and at an immense sacrifice to those who put their financial
means into the work and to those who gave their business time
and energies to it, the last spike was driven March 7, 1840. The
road was chartered in the expectation of running from Wil-
mington to the State capital, hut it was soon found that the
funds for completion could not be obtained in that direction
and the present route was located. The name was not changed
to Wilmington and Weldon until comparatively recently. None
of the equipment was what we are accustomed to now. The
engines could not pull even a light train up a slight incline, and
so the passengers and baggage had to he run up the hill as at
present, and while the passengers descended a long flight of steps
and walked to the boat landing, one or two hundred yards away,
the baggage was shot down an incline to a hand-car and rolled
away to the steamers in waiting. Happily, baggage smashers

Early Years

195

had not arrived at the perfection to which they have since at-
tained and Saratoga trunks were then unknown. It was the
day of bandboxes and bundles to try the patience of husbands
or other male attendants. Checks for baggage were unknown.
They soon came into vogue, but for special railroad lines only.
Engines in those days were doll babies or sandfiddlers to the
giants in size and weight and power of the present time. A
train of eight or ten cars each with carrying capacity not one-
fourth probably of the present was a sight to see, and the
coaches were not coaches as we know them at all, but cars made
somewhat like unto the stagecoaches they superseded. Think
of the time advertised between Hew York and Philadelphia,
100 miles, being eight hours.

Capt. James Owen was president of the road at its comple-
tion, Gen. Alexander MacRae, superintendent, and Walter
Gwyn, who had been in charge throughout the building, was still
chief engineer of construction. The four steamers owned by
the company and forming a line to Charleston — the Vanderbilt ,
Governor Dudley , North Carolina , and Wilmington — were
not comparable in size or in convenience to the palaces of the
present day in similar service elsewhere, but they were never-
theless very comfortable, very staunch and strong, and com-
manded by experienced, careful, and fearless seamen — such
men as Captains Davis, Marshall, Ivy, Smith, Bates, Sterrett,
Wade, and others. One or two accidents occurred, however,
but without loss of life. On or about January 7, 1839, the
North Carolina and the Vanderbilt collided off Georgetown
Light, and both had to go into Charleston for repairs. On
Sunday, July 26, 1840, at 1 a. m., thirty miles northeast of
Georgetown, the Governor Dudley and the North Carolina
came into collision, and in a very few minutes the latter vessel
went down beneath the waves. All the passengers were saved,
but some, all probably, without befitting clothes. Some mem-
bers of Congress were aboard, among them Hon. Dixon H.
Lewis, the 500-pounder of Alabama. In his disrobed state he
was a curiosity as well as an object of sympathy when he ar-
rived in Wilmington. The Governor Dudley was not hurt by
the collision and came on to port. She was seriously delayed,
of course. The North Carolina had not been long in the ser-
vice since her former accident. The steamer Huntress was
put on the line temporarily in place of the sunken steamer,
and the Gladiator afterwards came in permanently. When the

196

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

boats were first put on the line between Wilmington and Charles-
ton, say in 1839, possibly a little before, the Cape Fear River
had to be lighted at the expense of the railroad company, as
navigation at night was a necessity, but Congress in 1840 appro-
priated $5,000 a year for this service and lighting the river has
since been a charge of the General Government.

Perhaps nothing more strongly marks the difference in rail-
roads between 1842 and 1895 than the fact that between Mon-
day noon, July 11, 1842, and Thursday night, July 14, 1842,
three heavy trains were lost between Wilmington and Weldon.
No one could tell what had become of them. A deluging rain
had submerged the country between the Roanoke and the Tar
Rivers, causing three breaches in the road-bed. One or more
trains got between the rivers and lost all communication with
the outer world, and one or two others had been thrown from
the track, in a like situation, by fallen trees.

Nothing has been said about perils of travel in those days
of snakeheads and slow brakes, but time and space are up.

Senex, Jr.

THE PUBLIC SPIRIT OF WILMINGTON.

(The Fayetteville Observer of January, 1850.)

The public spirit of the citizens of our sister town is really
amazing; it seems to have no limit when any scheme is pre-
sented which is regarded as essential to the prosperity or honor
of the place. And the resources of the community seem to be as
abundant as the spirit with which they are employed is liberal.

Some twelve or fourteen years ago, when the population was
but three or four thousand, she undertook to make a railroad
161 miles long (the longest in the world), and a steamboat line
of equal length. For this purpose she subscribed more than
half a million dollars, we believe.

This accomplished with almost the total loss of the half mil-
lion, so far as the stock was concerned, however profitable in
other respects, one might have expected a pause at least if not a
total cessation in the march of improvements, and so it would
have been with almost any other people. But soon the Wil-
mington and Manchester Railroad was projected, and Wilming-
ton subscribed to it $180,000. Then came the Deep River and
Navigation Company, and she gave $30,000 to $40,000, we
believe, to that. Next the Central Railroad, and she subscribed

Early Years

197

about $50,000, and finally, it being found necessary to raise an
additional sum for tbe Manchester Road, she held a meeting
on tbe 5th inst., at which $50,000 more, making $230,000 in
all, was subscribed to that work. (This was increased to
$100,000 by the 10th, making $280,000.)

Thus this community, even now not containing more than
eight or nine thousand inhabitants, of whom probably not more
than two-thirds are white, has contributed to public works eight
or nine hundred thousand dollars — nearly as much as is re-
quired from the State to secure the Central Railroad.

With all this prodigious expenditure, who hears of any pres-
sure of bankruptcy — any interruption of her onward course
of prosperity? Truly, “There is that scattereth and yet in-
creaseth.”

It is not for the purpose of honoring Wilmington merely
that we make this statement, but it is to encourage the friends
of internal improvement throughout the State, and, if possible,
to remove the objections of those who doubt the policy or profit-
ableness of the system.

ACTIVITIES OH THE RIVER, 1850-1860.

In the fifties there were frequently as many as ninety vessels
in the port of Wilmington loading or unloading, or waiting for
berths at anchor in the stream. The wharves were lined two
vessels deep, and those waiting for orders were moored nearly
as far down the river as the Dram Tree. It was a season of
great activity.

Also, a large coastwise business in corn in bulk was carried
on with Hyde County, and for this trade a fleet of small
schooners called “Corn Crackers’’ was employed. It was most
exhilarating on a fine day to see this tiny fleet, twenty to thirty
white wings, rounding the Dram Tree, led by the We're Here ,
I'm Coming , and So Am I, with every stitch of canvas spread to
the favoring breeze on the last stretch to the Custom-house
Wharf.

Direct importations of coffee from Rio de Janeiro, of sugar
and molasses from Cuba, Jamaica, and Demerara, of hoop-
iron and cotton ties from England, of salt from Turks Island
and Liverpool employed many square-rigged foreign vessels;
and three times as many beautifully lined American schooners

198

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

added miscellaneous cargoes from the North to the overladen
wharves of Wilmington.

The following table illustrates the business of Wilmington
from December 1, 1851, to December 1, 1852 :

Coastwise Exports from Wilmington from December 1, 1851, to
December 1, 1852.

Sawed timber, 17,135,889 feet . .
Pitch-pine timber, 1,025,202 feet .
Spirits turpentine, 96,277 barrels

Rosin, 320,219 barrels

Tar, 17,522 barrels

Pitch, 6,660 barrels

Turpentine, raw, 63,071 barrels..

Cotton, 12,988 bales

Rice, clean, 2,300 casks

Rice, rough, 64,842 bushels ....

Peanuts, 93,255 bushels

Corn, Indian, 5,663 bushels

Staves, 27,000

Cotton yarn, 2,434 bales

Sheetings, 1,702 bales

Flax seed, 165 casks

Flax seed, 1,253 bags

Sundries

$272,585.77

12,815.01

1,707,999.75

560,383.26

35.044.00
9,157.00

220,748.50

454.580.00

37.375.00
58,357.80

93.255.00
3,009.64

105.00

97.360.00

102.120.00

6,052.25

320,613.86

Coastwise total $3,991,561.84

Foreign exports 549,107.74

Total coastwise and foreign

$4,540,669.58

A Few of the Principal Foreign Exports are Subjoined.

Lumber, feet 15,201,000

Timber, feet 2,383,814

Turpentine, barrels 33,596

The class of merchants and professional men of those days
was highly respectable and respected; nearly all were men of
education and refinement, and they were always keenly inter-
ested in public affairs. I note from memory some of the more
important business men and firms of importers, commission
merchants, and shipbrokers, physicians, hankers, and lawyers
who were established between Orange Street and Red Cross
Street on the river front, along Water Street and Nutt Street,
and uptown:

T. C. & B. G. Worth James H. Chadbourn & Co.

N. G. Daniel Kidder & Martin

Pierce & Dudley Joseph H. Neff

Early Years

199

C. W. Styron
James D. Cumming
W. H. McKoy & Co.

Houston & West
J. R. Blossom & Co.

A. H. VanBokkelen
J. E. Lippitt
H. B. Eilers
J. L. Hathaway & Utley

A. W. Coville
DeRosset & Brown
Murray & Murchison
James T. Petteway & Co.

Ellis & Mitchell

Hall & Armstrong
W. H. McRary & Co.

M. Mclnnis
Avon E. Hall
Harriss & Howell
J. & D. MacRae & Co.

B. G. & W. J. Monroe
Clark & Turlington
Henry Nutt

C. H. Robinson & Co.

A. D. Cazaux
Alexander Oldham
Smith & McLaurin

O. G. Parsley & Co.

Joseph H. Flanner
W. B. Flanner
James I. Metts, sr.

G. O. VanAmringe

H. P. Russell & Co.

P. K. Dickinson

Thomas D. Walker, president
Wilmington & Manchester
Railroad.

William S. Ashe, president Wil-
mington & Weldon Railroad.
John Dawson
P. W. Fanning
John S. James
W. C. Bettencourt
Zebulon Latimer
Adam Empie
Thomas C. Miller
Thomas H. Wright, banker
Joshua G. Wright
Gilbert Potter
James S. Green
William A. Williams

Rankin & Martin
Anderson & Savage
O. P. Meares
W. B. Meares
George Davis
W. A. Wright
Robert Strange
Duncan K. MacRae
Samuel J. Person
DuBrutz Cutlar
Griffith J. McRee
Alexander Anderson
Dr. E. A. Anderson
Stephen Jewett
Timothy Savage
H. R. Savage
L. A. Hart
George Myers
Charles D. Myers
J. S. Robinson
Hedrick & Ryan
J. S. Williams
James Dawson
Richard J. Jones
Dr. J. Fergus McRee
Dr. J. F. McRee, jr.

Dr. James H. Dickson

Dr. F. J. Cutlar

Dr. William J. Harriss

Dr. John D. Bellamy

Dr. William George Thomas

Dr. F. J. Hill

Dr. John Hill

Dr. W. A. Berry

Dr. J. C. Walker

John Wood

Dr. F. W. Potter

Dr. John Hampden Hill

Louis Erambert

Col. James G. Burr

Alfred Alderman

James S. Alderman

Edward B. Dudley

James Owen

Alexander MacRae

Asa A. Brown

E. P. Hall

Joseph H. Watters

Rev. Father Murphy

Rev. John L. Pritchard

S. D. Wallace

200

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

John Cowan
John Wooster
A. M. Waddell
William C. Lord

R, W. Brown
George W. Davis
J. W. K. Dix
John C. Latta
Isaac Northrop
Zeno H. Green
Jacob Lyon
James Wilson

S. P. Watters
Walker Meares
Talcott Burr, jr.

James T. Miller
Alexander Sprunt

Rt. Rev. Bishop Atkinson

Cyrus S. Van Amringe

H. R. Savage

Daniel B. Baker

N. N. Nixon

Daniel L. Russell

R. H. Cowan

John A. Taylor

Rev. Dr. R. B. Drane

Dougald McMillan

Samuel Davis

W. S. Anderson

Eli W. Hall

William MacRae

W. L. Smith

Thomas L. Colville

John C. Bailey

James M. Stevenson

James Dawson

Robert B. Wood

George R. French

A. L. Price
John L. Holmes
M. London
John C. Heyer

E. A. Keith

F. J. Lord

T. D. Love
Rev. M. B. Grier

Rev. Charles F. Deems, D.D.
Joseph Price

G. H. Kelly
Henry Flanner
W. P. Elliott
M. M. Kattz

L. B. Huggins
William G. Fowler
L. Vollers
Edward Savage
A. H. Cutts
G. A. Peck
Hugh Waddell
James A. Willard
W. H. Lippitt
Junius D. Gardner
John Judge
James Fulton
Thomas Loring
William B. Giles
Richard A. Bradley
William N. Peden
Gaston Meares
Joseph S. Murphy
William Reston
John Reston
John Colville
William Watters
A. A. Willard

And last, but not least, mine host, J ack Bishop, who kept the
Pilot House on the wharf and furnished the best table fare in
Wilmington to a large number of merchants, master mariners,
and pilots at very moderate prices — he whose breadth of beam
and suggestive sign combined to make him known as “Paunch-
ous Pilot” — and his genial neighbor at the foot of Dock Street,
Jimmie Baxter, who always wore a battered beaver hat, regard-
less of corresponding conventionalities of dress, and with his
brother Barney supplied the ships with pantry stores.

Early Years

201

Some of us still remember Jimmie Baxter’s kindly salutation
with its warning for the day : “And if ye meet the Divil in the
way, don’t shtop to shake hands wid him.”

FORGOTTEN AIDS TO THE NAVIGATION OF THE
CAPE FEAR.

In June, 1851, the topsail schooner Gallatin , of the United
States Coast Survey, appeared off the Main Bar and sailed into
the quiet harbor of Smithville, the base of operations.

She was commanded by Lieutenant Commanding John New-
land Maffitt, United States Navy, and the six lieutenants under
him included several who rose to the rank of commander, and
one to the distinction of admiral in the United States Navy.
Three of them were subsequently distinguished in the annals of
the Cape Fear: Maffitt, the daring commander of the Confed-
erate States Corvette Florida ; J. Pembroke Jones, commander
of the Confederate States Ram Raleigh , and subsequently com-
mander of other vessels of war, and, finally, a prominent officer
in the naval service of the Argentine Republic; and Lieut.
Charles P. Bolles, a master in the art of triangulation and
topography, whose name with that of Maffitt appears upon all
the old charts of the Cape Fear.

Professor Bache, the eminent superintendent of the Coast
Survey at Washington, in his official reports to Secretary Cor-
win, makes frequent reference to the valuable services of Lieu-
tenant Commanding Maffitt, who had charge of the hydrography
in this section of the Atlantic coast. In one report he says :
“Lieutenant Commanding J. N. Maffitt, United States Navy,
assistant in the Coast Survey, in command of the schooner
Gallatin , has executed the soundings of the bar of the Cape
Fear River, commencing at the most southern point of Cape
Fear, extending at a distance of from two and a half to three
and a half miles from shore to the northward and westward,
including the Main Bar, middle ground, and Western Bar, the
river up to New Inlet, that bar, and Sheep’s Head Ledge.”

In the execution of this work 25,688 soundings were made,
18,010 angles measured, and 389 miles of soundings run;
thirty-five specimens of bottoms were preserved, and fifteen ob-
servations of currents made. After this work was completed,
Lieutenant Maffitt proceeded to make a hydrographic reconnais-

202 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sance of the New River bars and of the river above the obstruc-
tions. In making this reconnaissance, 5,870 soundings were
made, 481 angles measured, and fifty miles of soundings run.

With reference to the social life of these gentlemen, Mrs.
Maffitt says : “When Lieutenant Maffitt visited Smithville its

citizens were composed of the best people in the Cape Fear
region. Its residences, generally deserted in the winter months,
were filled during the summer and early fall with the elite of
Wilmington society, then in its zenith of culture, refinement,
and that open and profuse hospitality for which it has from
early colonial times been distinguished. The officers of the
Coast Survey and their families were domiciled at the barracks
in the garrison grounds. The residents opened their hearts and
homes to them and vied with each other in rendering their stay
a pleasant one.

“Like most small communities having few interests outside
of themselves, there was at times a tendency to indulge in un-
pleasant gossip, and in order to quell this by giving a new
source of interest, Lieutenant Maffitt proposed organizing a
dramatic company; and, to insure the actors against unkind
criticism of amateurs, he made it a condition of entrance to the
plays that all who desired to witness the performance should
sign their names as members of the company before receiving
their tickets. And this proved a perfect success.”

Dr. W. G. Curtis says : “The old residents of Smithville,

before the season was over, gave this troupe the credit of driv-
ing out the gossips or closing their lips. In a word, the whole
society became a mutual admiration society. Harmony pre-
vailed everywhere. Sermons were preached every Sunday at
the chapel and the services were well attended; but the mem-
bers of the church often said that the good feeling of all the
attendants, brought about by our troupe, put them in a better
frame of mind to listen to the teachings from the pulpit.”

Of Captain Maffitt of the Confederacy much has been written.
Of this intrepid commander, it was said by a distinguished
visitor in 1868 : “Amongst the many interesting men I met at

Wilmington was the well known Captain Maffitt, whose adven-
turous career upon the high seas, as commander of the Florida ,
excited so much attention at the time.

“I found the captain a cultivated and gentlemanly man,
small-sized and spare in figure, hut with a finely-cast head, a
dark, keen eye, a strong tuft of black whiskers on his chin, and

Early Years

203

a firm little mouth that seemed to express the energy and de-
termination of his character. I remember very well his digni-
fied appearance as he stepped about in his short military cloak,
with his keen and somewhat stern look. He was in reduced
circumstances, having staked his whole fortune and position
upon the Lost Cause ; hut, like so many of his old military and
naval associates, he was trying his hand at business and striving
to reconcile himself to the new order of things.”

In The Life and Services of this remarkable man of the Cape
Fear, his gifted widow, Mrs. Emma Martin Maffitt, has con-
tributed to our history a volume of intensely interesting and
instructive literature.

Well may we say of him, as was said of the gallant Hey,
“He was the bravest of the brave.”

CAPE FEAR COAL.

I am informed by Mr. Joseph Hyde Pratt, State geologist,
that coal was found in two sections of our State, one in Chat-
ham and Moore Counties, the other in Stokes County.

Mining was done on the deposits of Chatham and Moore
Counties, and for many years a small amount of coal was gotten
out; hut the industry was not profitable because the coal basin
is not extensive. The seams are thin; and the few wider ones
are cut up with slate, and so mixed with sulphur that the qual-
ity has always been bad.

The use of this North Carolina coal during the War between
the States led to the capture of several fine blockade-running
steamers, whose supply of Welsh coal had been seized by the
Confederate officials and “Egypt” coal substituted. This was
so worthless that it was impossible to raise and keep steam,
and consequently these unfortunate and valuable ships fell an
easy prey to the Federal cruisers.

With reference to my further inquiries on this subject, Dr.
Joseph Austin Holmes, late director of the Bureau of Mines at
Washington, says: “Coal was opened up between 1855 and

1858 in Chatham County at a place called Egypt, under the
advice of Dr. Ehenezer Emmons, then State geologist. The
coal was at that time regarded as of considerable promise.

“During the year 1858 an examination was made of the Deep
River region, one of the principal tributaries of the Cape Fear,

204

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

by Captain Wilkes and other officers of the United States Navy,
in compliance with a Senate resolution adopted on April 13,
1858. As a result of this investigation, and in a report pub-
lished as an executive document early in 1859, Captain Wilkes
and his associates reported favorably on the proposition that the
Deep River region was a suitable one for the establishment of
foundries and other plants for the production of naval ordnance
and supplies.”

Captain Wilkes made the following statement in regard to
the coal :

“It is a shining and clean coal, resembling the best specimens
of Cumberland (Md.). It ignites easily, and burns with a
bright, clear combustion, and leaves a very little purplish-grey
ash. It is a desirable coal for blacksmiths’ use, for the parlor,
and superior to most coals for the production of gas, for which
it is likely to be in great demand. Its freedom from sulphur is
another of its recommendations.”

These favorable preliminary reports by Captain Wilkes of
the ISTavy Department, and Dr. Emmons, the State geologist
of ETorth Carolina, awakened considerable interest in the devel-
opment of this coal. But it was found in subsequent operations
that the coal, as mined, generally contained a considerable
quantity of slate and other black earthy material, that its ash
formed a slag on the grate bars, and that it contained no little
sulphur. This composition made it a rather difficult coal to use
in ordinary furnaces. But during the war, it was extensively
used to make coke for the iron works established in the Deep
River region. It was also used as a steam coal; but its use on
board blockade runners and other ships was found highly objec-
tionable, both on account of the poor quality of the coal and the
smoke which resulted from its use.

At intervals between 1870 and 1900 the shaft at the Egypt
coal mine (about 465 feet deep) was again opened and the
mine worked on a small scale, the coal being shipped to Raleigh,
Fayetteville, and other local markets; but it never became a
good merchantable coal, and its use remained limited and local.

Besides, the coal itself gave off in the mine considerable
quantities of explosive gas, and there were several bad explo-
sions, one of which, in December, 1895, killed thirty-nine men,
and another, in May, 1900, killed twenty-three men. The
operating company was much discouraged by these disasters,
and the mine was closed.

Early Years

205

There is probably a considerable quantity of coal still to be
obtained in tbe vicinity of the old Egypt mine, and if the mine
were worked with modern safety precautions, to prevent dis-
astrous explosions, and tbe coal were washed so as to remove the
dirt, it would be found to be a fairly satisfactory fuel. If
briquetted (as is frequently done in European countries), it
would be both suitable and available for domestic use in tbe
adjacent markets.

The formation in which this coal occurs extends from the
South Carolina line northward to near Oxford in Granville
County, its greatest width being from twelve to fifteen miles.
At different points in this formation there are beds of sand-
stone available for building purposes; but the workable coal
seems to be limited to a few thousand acres in that part of Chat-
ham County near the old hamlet of Egypt, formerly known as
the “Gulf,” but which during the past few years has been called
“Cumnock.”

FAYETTEVILLE OH THE CAPE FEAR.

Known as Cross Creek and Campbellton up to 1184, the
name of this interesting old town was then changed to Fayette-
ville, in tribute to the services of the Marquis de Lafayette, who
visited Fayetteville in 1824.

The people of Fayetteville, between whom and the people of
Wilmington there have been for a hundred years the most cor-
dial social and business relations, were ever as thrifty and enter-
prising as hospitable and cultured. They were among the first in
the State to establish cotton factories ; and, being at the head of
water transportation and having an extensive system of plank
roads into the interior, Fayetteville was the great mart of trade
in Horth Carolina, especially for the extensive country lying
west to the Blue Ridge, and even for the transmontane country
comprising parts of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
This trade was carried on by canvas-topped wagons as vehicles
of transportation, drawn by two, four, and even six horses, for
mules in those days were seldom employed. Said Mr. J. H.
Myrover, the historian of F ayetteville :

“The starting point of all this vast back-country carrying
trade was the wharves and Water Street in Wilmington, though
in the early part of the last century wagoning was done by

206

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

stages, or relays, between Fayetteville and Philadelphia, before
the first steamer was put on the Cape Fear. Among the pio-
neers of steamboat building and operating on the Cape Fear
River, though perhaps not the first, was Mr. Seawell. One of
the first boats to ply the stream bore the same name as one of
the last — the City of Fayetteville. It was launched not far
from the Clarendon Bridge, and it has been related that some
one having prophesied that it would ‘turn turtle’ when it
reached the water, the architect boldly rode its bow as it slipped
off the ways, and the event justified his faith in his work.

“It is impossible, with the lapse of time, to enumerate all the
craft that formed the Cape Fear merchant marine. The Henri-
etta, Fanny Lutterloh , Cotton Plant , Zephyr , Magnolia , Halcyon ,
Governor Worth , North State , A. P. Hurt , D. Murchison , and
R. E. Lee are recalled as leading among the passenger and
freight steamers from the thirties up to and for some time
after the War between the States. Equally impossible would
it be to give the names and record of the services of the faithful
captains.

“Notable commanders in the history of Cape Fear navigation
were Captains John P. Stedman, who lost his life by the ex-
plosion of the boiler of the Fanny Lutterloh , Rush, A. P. Hurt,
after whom a steamer was named, Phillips, Skinner, Green,
Worth, Smith, Garrason. The captain’s rule on board was
autocratic but patriarchal. He sat at the head of the table and
served the passengers as the father of a family would his chil-
dren. The fare was plain but wholesome and abundant, and,
with good weather and a fair depth of water, the trip between
Fayetteville and Wilmington was very pleasant. The river
goes on its way to the sea with many a wind and bend, its
banks steep and heavily* wooded, the wild grape climbing the
tall trees, and the wild jasmine and flowering honeysuckle giv-
ing forth their fragrance. Those veteran captains knew the
river well and most of the people on either bank clear to Wil-
mington; the pilots, many of whom were negroes, knew every
crook and eddy of the stream. Han Buxton, an esteemed colored
man of this city, has a record of fifty years faithful service as
a pilot on the Cape Fear. The late Col. Thomas S. Lutterloh,
always a large boat owner, is said to have been the first Cum-
berland man to become sole owner of a steamer on the river.
Many of the business men of Fayetteville and Wilmington were
stockholders in these boat lines.

Early Years

207

“The oldest inhabitants still look back on those times as the
‘good old days’ of Fayetteville. The merchants were not the
progressive men of the 20th century; they were conservative
and cautious and honest as the day, with their word as bond.
They made money slowly, but they lived simply, and gradually
accumulated modest fortunes.”

Mr. Myrover overlooked in his sketch a very prominent Cape
Fear mariner, who, during his long and useful career, com-
manded successively the well-known river steamers Henrietta ,
Brothers , Scottish Chief , James B. Crist, James T. Petteway,
and John Dawson. A hearty, genial, bright-eyed Scotsman
of superior attainments was Capt. John Banks, in some respects
the most notable of all the river captains. He was a highly
esteemed citizen of Wilmington and he owned a valuable resi-
dence on the corner of Market and Seventh Streets, where he
reared an interesting family, several members still surviving.
Other commanders were Capt. James Barry, of the A. P. Hurt ;
Captain Driver of the Flora Macdonald ; Capt. Roderick Mac-
Rae, of the Rowan; Captain Stedman, of the Kate McLaurin;
Capt. Jesse Dicksey, of the Black River; Captain Peck, of the
Nellie Hart, and Captain Jones, of the Enterprise. There were
two other boats, the North Carolina and the T. S. Lutterloh,
the names of whose commanders I have forgotten.

United States Minister E. J. Hale says :

“From the close of the Revolution and up to the building of
the Wilmington and Raleigh [Weldon] Railroad and the Ra-
leigh and Gaston Railroad (about 1838), the great mail stage
lines from the North to the South passed through Fayetteville.
There were four daily lines of four-horse post and passenger
coaches to Raleigh, Norfolk, Charleston, and Columbia; and,
in addition, two tri- weekly lines to Hew Bern and Salisbury.

“The Legislature sat in Fayetteville in 1788, 1789, 1790,
and 1793. At the convention at Hillsborough in 1788, called to
deliberate on the acceptance or rejection of the United States
Constitution, Fayetteville failed to secure the location of the
permanent capital by one vote, that of Timothy Bloodworth, of
New Hanover, who subsequently was elected to the United
States Senate. The ordinance adopted fixed the location of the
capital on Joel Lane’s plantation in Wake, on the ground that
this point was nearer the centre of the State than Fayetteville.”

Notable Incidents

VISITS OF PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
TO WILMINGTON BEFORE THE WAR.

“Wilmington,77 said Iredell Meares, Esq., in an interesting
pamphlet, “has been honored by the visits of five of the Presi-
dents of the United States — Washington, Monroe, Polk, Fill-
more, and Taft.77 We may now add the name of Wilson, who,
as stated elsewhere, once lived in Wilmington.

General Washington, in 1791, made a tonr of the South-
ern States. One of his biographers relates that “no royal prog-
ress in any country ever equaled this tour in its demonstrations
of veneration and respect.77 His visit to Wilmington was pre-
served in the traditions of the people for many years. The old
folks used to tell of its incidents, and the ladies of “ye olden
times77 of an elaborate hall given in his honor. In the posses-
sion of Mr. Clayton Giles, of this city, is a letter in excellent
state of preservation giving some account of this interesting in-
cident. It was written by Mrs. Jane Anna Simpson to her
sister on the day of the reception, and is dated the “25th April,
1791. 77 The letter, among other things, says:

“Great doings this day. General Washington arrived yester-
day. The Light Horse went to meet him. The artillery were
ready to receive him with a round from the batteries, four guns.
This day he dines with the Gentlemen of the town; in the even-
ing a grand ball and illumination ; tomorrow takes his leave. I
believe the Light Horse are to escort him a day’s journey on
his way to Chas’ton.

“Half-past four — just going to dinner — cannons firing;
Chrissy and the children all gone to see the procession. I don’t
go to the ball this evening, as Mary can not accompany me.
She desires me to ask if you have many beaux at the Marsh.
Adieu. I must get the candles.

“Mrs. Quince has given up her house to the General and she
stays with our uncles. * * *”

The place at which the Light Horse met General Washington
was at the House House, about fifteen miles out on the Hew

[208]

Notable Incidents

209

Bern Road. Here was fought, during the Revolutionary War
a small battle between the Patriots and the English forces under
the command of Major Craig. It is described as a massacre by
the historian Caruthers, for Craig gave no quarter and killed
every one of the Patriots, who were overwhelmed by numbers,
save one hoy, who escaped.

It is a tradition handed down by the old folks that upon the
occasion of General Washington’s visit to the residence of
General Smith, at his plantation Belvidere, which is situated
across the river in Brunswick County, he was met at the river
landing by a group of thirteen young ladies, all dressed in white
and representing the thirteen colonies, who preceded him up
the avenue of old trees leading from the river to the brick resi-
dence, bestrewing his path with flowers as he approached.

The hall which was given to him by the people of Wilming-
ton was held in what was then known as the Assembly Hall, also
called “Old ’76,” because of having been built in 1776. In
time it was used as a sailor boarding-house, and was subse-
quently taken down in 1876 to make way for the present build-
ing. It stood on Front Street, east side, between Orange and
Ann Streets, where now stands a two-story brick tenement house.

‘Wilmington,” wrote President Washington in his diary,
“has some good houses, pretty compactly built — the whole
under a hill, which is formed entirely of sand. The number
of souls in it amount by enumeration to about 1,000.

“Wilmington, unfortunately for it, has a mud bank — miles
below, over which not more than ten feet of water can be
brought at common tides. Yet it is said vessels of 250 tons
have come up. The quantity of shipping which loads here an-
nually amounts to about 12,000 tons. Exports are Haval stores
and lumber ; some tobacco, corn, rice, and flax seed and pork.”

“Monday, 25th. Dined with the citizens of the place — went
to a Ball in the evening at which there were 62 ladies — illumi-
nations, bonfires, &&.”

James Moxroe, the fifth President of the United States,
visited Wilmington on the 12th day of April, 1819.

In an old copy of the Raleigh Minerva , bearing date April
23, 1819, we find a letter from Wilmington, giving an account
of the visit of President Monroe and his suite :

“The Presidential cortege was met about twelve miles from
town, on the old Hew Bern Road, somewhere near Scott’s Hill,

210

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and escorted into the city by the Wilmington Light Horse, a
volunteer organization, under the command of Colonel Cowan.
The entrance into the town was made on Market Street, the
boundary being on Fifth. They then proceeded down Market
to Front and up Front to the Wilmington Hotel, where the
usual formalities of a grand reception were tendered to the
President.

“His Excellency was the guest, while here, of Robert Coch-
ran, Esq., who resided on Second Street, between Chestnut and
Mulberry; and John C. Calhoun, the Secretary of War, and his
Lady, received the hospitalities of Hr. A. J. DeRosset, sr., at
the brick house standing on the corner of Market and Third
Streets. It was on Thursday that the President arrived here,
and on Friday, accompanied by Judge Murphey, he paid a visit
to Wrightsville. On his return he partook of a dinner with the
citizens at the Wilmington Hotel and the next day left this
place on the steamer Prometheus for Fort Johnston, from
whence he proceeded immediately to Georgetown, S. C.”

At the dinner given in his honor, Hanson Kelly, Esq., pre-
sided, assisted by Robert Cochran, Esq. The former was magis-
trate of police (now the office of mayor), and the latter was the
collector of customs for the district of Cape Fear. There were
a number of patriotic toasts drunk, the list being published in
the papers of the day, and among those who responded were the
President, Hon. John C. Calhoun, J. R. London, Esq., Gen.
James Owen, Judge Archibald Murphey, Colonel Cleary,
Robert Cochran, Esq., John H. Jones, Esq., Gen. Thomas
Havis, William B. Meares, Esq., and Alfred Moore, Esq., all
prominent citizens of the Cape Fear in that day and time.

In a formal letter addressed to the President by Hanson
Kelly, Esq., on behalf of the citizens, occurs this sentiment :
“Events, the most propitious, have rendered your administra-
tion an epoch of national security and aggrandizement. The
united voice of your country, from Maine to Mexico, proclaim
the wisdom of councils honorable to you; and in their result,
glorious to our extended empire.” To this letter, the President
responded, as follows:

Sir: On the principle on which I have thought it proper to visit our

Atlantic frontier, this town, with its relation to the ocean, had a just
claim to attention. It was always my intention to visit it when I
should be able to examine the Southern coast; and I am much gratified
in having done it, as, in addition to the satisfaction of having per-

Notable Incidents

211

formed an interesting part of my public duty, it has afforded me an
opportunity of becoming acquainted with a portion of my fellow-
citizens, whose kind reception and obliging attention I shall always
recollect with great interest. To secure you in peace, and all the
advantages in commerce which a kind Providence has enabled you to
enjoy, and all the protection in war, to which your situation may ex-
pose you, are objects which will never fail to receive the unwearied at-
tention of the General Government in all its branches, according to
their respective powers. On my exertions, in those concerns which fall
within the department which I have the honor to fill, you may con-
fidently rely. In the late event to which you allude, I concur in all
the favorable anticipations which you have suggested of its happy
effects on the best interests of our country. In contemplating this
epoch we must all derive peculiar satisfaction from the reflection
that it was the result of an arrangement by which our differences were
settled with a friendly power, and our peace secured against the pros-
pect of early interruption, on conditions equally honorable to both
parties.

Should I be able by my future conduct in the public service to carry
with me into retirement the same favorable opinion of my fellow-
citizens which you have kindly expressed of the past, it will afford me
the high consolation to which I have invariably aspired.

James Monroe.

James K. Poek, the eleventh President of the United States,
just after his retirement, visited Wilmington, upon invitation
of its citizens. The files of the newspapers published here at
the time, which will be found in the Wilmington Public Lib-
rary, contain reports of his reception. From the Commercial ,
issue of Thursday, March 8, 1849, we clip this mention of his
visit :

“The ex-President, Mr. Polk, and Lady and ISTiece, together
with Mr. Secretary Walker and Niece, and Mr. Grahame, solic-
itor of the Treasury, and Lady, reached our town at 10 o’clock
yesterday morning. Their arrival was heralded by the boom-
ing of cannon, the ringing of bells, and the floating aloft of ban-
ners and streamers from stalls, housetops, and mastheads. The
magistrate of police, Col. James T. Miller, the Committee of
Arrangements, and a large concourse of citizens were ready at
the railroad to receive the ex-President and suite, and they were
greeted by Colonel Miller in a brief and cordial address, to
which the ex-President warmly responded. The whole suite
was then escorted, according to the program heretofore pub-
lished, to Mrs. Swann’s boarding-house, on the balcony of which,
in view and hearing of the assembled crowd, Mr. William Hill
welcomed the ex-President and suite in a cordial, chaste, and

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

eloquent address, during which he alluded to the birth and
education of the ex-President in North Carolina, and to many
of the leading measures of his administration. Mr. Polk’s re-
sponse was feeling and patriotic. He fondly acknowledged his
attachment to North Carolina, and the gratification which it
gave him to receive from the archives, and to transmit to our
State Executive, the recorded evidence of the early disloyalty
and independent resolves of different portions of North Caro-
lina. He spoke of the inestimable value of our Union, and of
the bright destiny in store for our country, provided we shall
adhere to this glorious Union, and the teachings of the Father
of the Republic. When he had closed, General Marstellar an-
nounced to the crowd that at 12 o’clock Mr. Polk and suite
would be happy to see their fellow-citizens at the Masonic Hall.
And, accordingly, at that hour, hundreds repaired thither and
offered their salutations to our distinguished guests.”

Mileaed Eillmoee, the thirteenth President of the United
States, after his retirement, visited Wilmington on the 12th
day of May, 1854. He had contemplated a tour of the South
in 1853, and on March 10, 1853, the citizens of the town met
and passed the following resolution:

Resolved, That a Committee of twenty-four persons, and the magis-
trate of police, be appointed to correspond with Millard Fillmore, late
President of the United States, and such of the members of his late
cabinet as may accompany him on his projected visit to the South,
and tender to him and to them the hospitalities of our town.

Under this resolution the following gentlemen were ap-
pointed: Talcott Burr, jr., John L. Holmes, William A.

Wright, William C. Bettencourt, R. H. Cowan, R. H. Beery,
George Davis, S. J. Person, James S. Green, John Walker,
John MacRae, R. Strange, jr., J. G. Wright, Gaston Meares,
E. Kidder, S. D. Wallace, A. A. Brown, E. W. Hall, D. Dupre,
Miles Costin, J. J. Lippitt, P. M. Walker, 0. P. Meares, and
J. T. Miller.

A sub-committee consisting of Messrs. James S. Green, John
L. Meares, S. J. Person, and Adam Empie, jr., were appointed
to go to Richmond and tender the hospitalities of the town to
the ex-President, who was supposed to he on a visit there at the
time, and to his suite. The death of Mrs. Fillmore caused the
postponement of Mr. Fillmore’s tour in the South that year,
hut in 1854 he fulfilled his desire to make such a tour, with the

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213

assurance to the public that he “earnestly wished to avoid the
pomp and pageantry of a public reception.’7 In the Daily Jour-
nal, issue of Friday, May 12, 1854, the files of which are in the
local library, is an account of the ex-President’s visit, as
follows :

“Ex-President Fillmore, of Hew York, and Mr. Kennedy, of
Maryland, Secretary of the Mavy under his administration, ar-
rived here this morning on the Manchester cars from Columbia.
A very large number of our citizens of both parties have called
upon our distinguished visitors at their rooms at Mr. Holmes’s
hotel [now a store, southeast corner Market and Front Streets].
Owing to the illness of Mrs. Kennedy they are anxious to reach
Baltimore at the earliest possible moment, and are thus com-
pelled to leave for the Horth by the 2 o’clock train. In accord-
ance with the earnest wish of the people, Mr. Fillmore had de-
signed to make a short address from the balcony of the hotel at
11 o’clock, but, in consequence of the rain, his intention could
not be carried out. We are pleased to see both gentlemen appar-
ently in the enjoyment of high health and spirits. Mr. Fillmore
is certainly a gentleman of exceedingly prepossessing appearance
and manners; and bears little evidence of the cares of state
having pressed heavily upon him.

THE VISIT OF HEHRY CLAY.

The happy occasion of a visit by Henry Clay to Wilmington
while he was canvassing the South during his presidential cam-
paign in 1844, is described by the Wilmington Chronicle as

follows: . ., 0 ....

April 3, 1844.

The Committee of Arrangement for the reception and enter-
tainment of our distinguished fellow-citizen, Henry Clay, who
in compliance with the invitation of the citizens of this town is
expected to visit us on Tuesday, the 9th of April, 1844, have
adopted the following measures :

[Here follows an elaborate program.]

The following gentlemen are appointed marshals of the day,
viz. : 0. G. Parsley, Thomas W. Brown, G. B. Alsaps, James
Anderson, George W. Davis, James F. McKee, jr., John L.
Meares, Hathaniel Hill.

The following gentlemen compose the accompanying commit-

214 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tee to wait on Mr. Clay from Charleston, viz. : J ames Owen,
John MacRae, Dr. Thomas H. Wright, Gen. Alexander Mac-
Rae, Gilbert Potter, P. C. Hill, Asa A. Brown, William A.
Wright, A. J. DeRosset, jr., George Davis, R. G. Rankin, Por-
ter Strode, Thomas Sanford.

The following gentlemen have been appointed to act as man-
agers of the hall: R. W. Brown, Edward B. Dudley, P. K.

Dickinson, James S. Green, G. J. McRee, M. London, James H.
Dickson, Thomas D. Meares, John Hall, and Nathaniel Hill.

April 10, 1844.

Me. Clay in Wilmington.

The publication of the Chronicle has been delayed a day to
enable us to give some account of the reception and entertain-
ment of Mr. Clay in Wilmington, where he arrived yesterday
morning.

On Tuesday afternoon between three and four o’clock, the
Committee of Thirteen deputed by the Clay Club to wait upon
Mr. Clay at Charleston and escort him to this town, received
him on hoard the fine steamer Gladiator , Captain Smith. The
steamer had quite a pleasant night for the run, and reached
Smithville about sunrise. Mr. Clay was there welcomed to the
State by the Committee of Ten, consisting of the chairman of
the Whig Central Committee and one gentleman from each of
the nine congressional districts. After an hour’s delay at
Smithville the steamer was again in motion, and reached here
at the time named above. From a point three or four miles
below town until the boat touched the wharf, a piece of ordnance
on hoard was fired at regular intervals and the reports were
answered from numerous other pieces of artillery stationed at
various places along the river. The steamer came to on the
south side of Market Dock. Here an immense throng had
gathered to greet the distinguished man, and as soon as the boat
touched the wharf there were repeated hursts of the people’s
welcome. Mr. Clay was then introduced to the Committee of
Arrangements, and, a procession having formed in the pre-
scribed order, he was escorted to his private lodgings at the resi-
dence of Mrs. Joseph A. Hill, southeast corner of Front and
Dock Streets.

At 11 o’clock Mr. Clay, accompanied by the Clay Club, com-
mittees, and citizens, repaired to the new and commodious man-

Notable Incidents

215

sion of Capt. Samuel Potter, on Market Street. Here, upon the
balcony of the house facing Market Street, he was addressed in
a most appropriate manner by ex-Governor Dudley, the presi-
dent of the Clay Club. The address referred to the long and
arduous public services of Mr. Clay, the great debt of gratitude
the country justly owes him, the strong interest and regard the
people throughout the Union have manifested for him on
numerous occasions, the warm affection entertained for him by
so large a portion of the citizens of North Carolina, and ap-
pealed to the multitude of upturned faces as furnished evidence
that “Welcome to Henry Clay” were the words then gushing
spontaneously from the hearts of thousands. Mr. Clay made
only a short reply, not exceeding twenty minutes in length.

He said he had long looked forward to this visit to North
Carolina (which he had promised to make when a fitting op-
portunity should occur) with a pleasing hope, and now having
set foot upon her soil for the first time, his fondest anticipations
were in course of being realized, and the event would form an
epoch in his life. He had for many years wished to visit the
State, and the repeated invitations formed motives of still
weightier influence.

He utterly disclaimed all electioneering designs or selfish
purposes pertaining to his journey. He was traveling on busi-
ness and to enjoy the hospitality of his friends; the people had
tendered him unexpected civilities, which he could not without
rudeness decline. He had also been brought out on political
topics, and had not hesitated to declare his sentiments, as be-
came an American citizen.

He glanced at the two principal parties of the country, ex-
pressing his conviction that both of them are in the main gov-
erned by honest views. Men, he said, should act with that party
in whose principles they found the least to condemn, after hav-
ing given them a thorough examination. None could expect to
find in any party everything exactly as they would have it;
small defects must he overlooked, as are those which a man dis-
covers, perchance, in the woman of his admiration. He had at-
tached himself to the Whig party as the result of his investiga-
tions of the great principles of its existence. But every man, he
said, should hold party fealty as subordinate to that due his
country. Properly, parties were hut instruments for promoting
our country’s good.

Mr. Clay excused himself for the briefness of his discourse

216 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

by reference to the fatiguing circumstances of his journey thus
far.

The view below and around the place where Mr. Clay stood
was striking beyond any effort of ours to portray. The wide
street, for a considerable distance on either hand, was one dense
mass of human beings, whilst the balconies, windows, etc., were
crowded with ladies, all eager listeners to the words of the great
statesman of the West. Never was such a scene, or anything
approaching to it, witnessed in Wilmington.

His speech ended, Mr. Clay entered the reception room, and
was then introduced to a rushing tide of people, made up of
both sexes and all ages and conditions. He remained in the re-
ception rooms until one o’clock, and then retired to his lodgings.

At two o’clock a most bountiful collation, prepared by Mr.
Keith, was spread out on tables in the open space south of Mr.
John Walker’s house on Princess Street, to which a general in-
vitation had been given, and of which hundreds partook. Mr.
Clay was not present, desiring to have a few hours’ rest. The
company was, however, highly gratified with able and instruc-
tive speeches from Hon. A. H. Stephens, member of Congress
from Georgia, who being on his way to Washington was in-
duced to remain over a day; Col. William W. Cherry, of Bertie,
an orator of surpassing eloquence ; Col. B. P. Gaither, of Burke,
and others. Mr. Stephens well sustained the reputation which
had preceded him of being an eloquent, humorous, and effective
speaker.

At night there was a superb ball and party at the Carolina
Hotel and Masonic Hall — all the rooms being connected for
the occasion. The whole affair was got up under the superin-
tendency of ladies of Wilmington. It could not, therefore, but
be an elegant one. The rooms were beautifully decorated, the
refreshments choice, the supper in refined taste and order, the
music inspiring, and a hilarious spirit reigned throughout the
well-filled apartments. How many hours of the morning heard
the festive strains we do not exactly know and will not hazard a
conjecture. In the course of the evening Mr. Clay visited the
place of gaiety and remained a couple of hours or so.

Between seven and eight this morning Mr. Clay took his de-
parture for Baleigh, by way of the railroad, cheered by many,
many, newly-awakened and newly-born wishes for his welfare.

We have thus sketched a meagre outline of Mr. Clay’s visit
to Wilmington. The glowing lines of the picture the reader’s

Notable Incidents

217

imagination must supply. The enthusiasm, the kindly feeling,
the generous good will, all these are to be supposed, for they
were all exhibited in an eminent degree.

There was a very great concourse of strangers in town from
this and the neighboring counties, Fayetteville, and other parts
of the State, who aided us in doing honor to our venerable and
beloved guest.

THE VISIT OF DANIEL WEBSTER.

Early in May, 1847, Daniel Webster visited Wilmington as
the guest of Gov. Edward B. Dudley. In an old book contain-
ing the private correspondence of Mr. Webster I found a letter
by him dated Wilmington, May 6, 1847, as follows:

“At one o’clock yesterday, ten miles from this city, we met a
special train, with a large deputation, headed by ex-Governor
Dudley. The weather was bad, and the wind east, and I was
rather easily persuaded to stay over a day. The Governor
brought us to his own home, where we were grandly lodged. I
go to the hotel to meet the citizens at 11 o’clock, and go off at
half -past two this p. m., if the wind goes down. At present it
blows rather hard. This is an active little city, built on the east
side of the river, on sand-hills. The good people are Whigs, but
out of the city, and all around for fifty miles, it is a region
whose politics are personified by Mr. McKay.

“There is a thing, Harry, which thou hast often heard of, and
it is known to many in this land by the name of pitch , etc., etc.
We are here in the midst of this very thing, at the very center
of the tar and turpentine region. The pines are long-leaved
pines. In one of these, a foot from the bottom, a notch is cut,
and its capacity enlarged and its shape fashioned a little, so as
to hold the liquid, by chiseling, and then it is called the Fox.’
Above the box the bark is cut off, for a foot or so, and the turpen-
tine oozes out of the tree on to this smooth surface, and then
runs slowly into the box. The box holds about a quart. In a
good large tree it will fill five times a season. Sometimes there
are two boxes in one tree, so that some trees will yield ten
quarts a year. But the greatest yield is the first year ; after that
it is gradually diminished, and in seven or eight years the tree
dies, or will yield no more turpentine. Tar is made by bring-
ing together wood full of turpentine, either trees or knots, and

218

Chronicles of the Cape Fear Fiver

pieces picked up in the woods, and burning it in a pit, just as
charcoal is made, then running it off into a hole prepared for it
in the ground. At the present price of the article, this is said
to he the best business now doing in the State. I am told good,
fresh, well-timbered pine lands can he bought for $1.25 to $1.50
per acre.

“One barrel of turpentine distilled makes six gallons of
spirits. The residuum, or resin, is not of much value, say
twenty-five cents a barrel. Tar and turpentine are now high,
and the business is good.”

The late Col. Thomas C. Mcllhenny, always a welcome guest
of Governor Dudley, often entertained me by the recital of im-
portant local events of his earlier years, and upon one occasion
described the visit of the great Commoner while he was also a
guest at the Governor’s mansion. The colonel said he was
much impressed by the great size of Mr. Webster’s head and the
powerful penetration of his searching eyes, and by his fancy for
the Governor’s madeira, of which he kept a pipe of superior
quality. After drinking all of the dining room supply, Mrs.
Dudley having withdrawn, Mr. Webster laid an affectionate
hand upon the colonel’s shoulder and said : “Young man, show

me where the Governor keeps that wine,” and being led to the
cellar, he greatly reduced the contents of the cask with much
enjoyment, but apparently not altogether with satisfaction, be-
cause he seldom knew when he had enough.

With reference to Mr. Webster’s visit to Wilmington, the
following from the local newspaper, the Commercial , Thursday
morning, May 6, 1847, is quoted:

How. Daniel Webster.

The Hon. Daniel Webster and family arrived at this place
yesterday in the cars at a little before 2 o’clock.

Col. John MacRae, magistrate of police, appointed the fol-
lowing gentlemen as a committee to meet our distinguished
guest, and to make the necessary arrangements to entertain him
while here:

Governor Dudley, John D. Jones, L. H. Marsteller, Alexan-
der MacRae, Dr. W. A. Berry, James T. Miller, Dr. F. J. Hill,
R. W. Brown, Samuel Potter, Dr. J. H. Dickson, Gilbert Pot-
ter, John Walker, C. D. Ellis, Thomas Boring, A. A. Brown,
D. Fulton, R. B. Wood, J. Ballard, H. W. Beatty, J. Hatha-

Notable Incidents

219

way, H. R. Savage, W. C. Bettencourt, Dr. T. H. Wright,
Thomas D. Meares, John A. Taylor, James S. Green, W. H.
Peden, Owen Fennell, Miles Costin, Alfred Bryant, Dr. J. D.
Bellamy, Samuel Black, Henry Hutt, P. K. Dickinson.

A number of the committee started in an extra train at about
eleven o’clock and met the regular train at Rocky Point, where
they entered the mail train, and through Governor Dudley prof-
fered the hospitalities of our town to Mr. Webster and his
family. On arriving at the depot they proceeded to the resi-
dence of Governor Dudley on the southwest corner of Front
and Hun Streets.

Mr. Webster will leave in the boat today for Charleston.

At the request of the committee appointed by the magistrate
of police, Mr. Webster will meet the citizens of Wilmington at
the Masonic Hall this morning at eleven o’clock.

The same paper, of May 8, 1847, contained the following:
Mr. Webster.

This gentleman left our place in the boat for Charleston on
Thursday evening. The arrangements indicated in our last
were carried out by the committee. At the Masonic Hall Mr.
Webster made a short address to the many citizens who had
assembled to pay their respects to him. We believe men of all
parties were very much gratified on the occasion.

Mention has been made to me of Mr. Webster’s appreciation
of the excellent cooking in the South, and of his preference for
a dish of tripe, which leads me to copy a letter on this subject,
written in December, 1850, and addressed to his hostess at
Richmond, Mrs. Paige.

Dear Mrs. Paige: — I sit down to write a letter, partly diplomatic
and partly historical. The subject is Tripe — T-R-I-P-E. Your husband
remembers Mrs. Hayman, who was Mrs. Blake’s cook. Excelling
others in all else, she excelled herself in a dish of tripe. I do not know
that her general genius exceeded that of Monica McCarty; but in this
production she was more exact, more artistical; she gave to the
article, not only a certain gout, which gratified the most fastidious,
but an expression, also, an air of haut ton, as it lay presented on the
table, that assured one that he saw before him something from the
hand of a master.

Tradition, it is said, occasionally hands down the practical arts with
more precision and fidelity than they can be transmitted by books,

220

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

from generation to generation; and I have thought it likely that your
Lydia may have caught the tact of preparing this inimitable dish. I
entertain this opinion on two grounds: first, because I have been
acquainted with very respectable efforts of hers in that line; second,
because she knows Mr. Paige’s admirable connoiseurship, and can de-
termine, by her quick eye, when the dish comes down from the table,
whether the contents have met his approbation.

For these reasons, and others, upon which it is not necessary for the
undersigned to enlarge, he is desirous of obtaining Lydia’s receipt
for a dish of tripe, for the dinner-table. Mrs. Hayman’s is before my
eyes. Unscathed by the frying pan, it was white as snow; it was dis-
posed in squares, or in parallelograms, of the size of a small sheet of
ladies’ note paper; it was tender as jelly; beside it stood the tureen
of melted butter, a dish of mealy potatoes, and the vinegar cruet.
Can this spectacle be exhibited in the Vine Cottage, on Louisiana
Avenue, in the City of Washington?

Yours truly, always,

Dan’l Webster.

P. S. — Tripe; the etymon is the Greek word to “turn, to wind,” from
its involutions, not the same as “tripod,” which means “having three
feet”; nor the same as “trip,” which is from the Latin tripudiare, to
strike the feet upon the ground; sometimes to stumble; sometimes
to go nimbly; to “trip it on the light fantastic toe.”

Washington, 29 December, 1850.

THE VISIT OF EDWARD EVERETT.

In 1859 the renowned Edward Everett delivered in hundreds
of cities throughout the United States his splendid address on
the Character of Washington , the receipts being for the benefit
of the Ladies’ Mount Vernon Association.

Of his visit to Wilmington on that occasion he wrote in his
Mount Vernon Papers: “Its population, as far as I could judge
from a short visit, is intelligent, enterprising, and rather more
than usually harmonious among themselves. The river pros-
pects from elevated positions are remarkably fine. An immense
audience, assembled in Thalian Hall on the 11th of April last,
honored the repetition of my address on the Character of Wash-
ington, and the net receipts of the evening, $1,091.80, were, in
proportion to population, far beyond those of any other place in
the Union.”

Mr. Everett has also been quoted as saying that at Wilming-
ton alone, during his travels, he was introduced by an orator
who surpassed himself, Mr. George Davis.

Notable Incidents

221

We copy an interesting account of Mr. Everett’s oration in
Wilmington from the Daily Journal of that date.

April 12, 1859.

Me. Everett’s Oration.

Last evening Thalian Hall was filled by an attentive audi-
ence eager to listen to the Washington oration of Hon. Edward
Everett, of Massachusetts.

At 8 o’clock Mr. Everett, accompanied by a committee of citi-
zens, appeared upon the stage and was introduced to the audi-
ence by George Davis, Esq., whose eloquent though brief re-
marks formed a fitting prelude to the splendid composition of
the distinguished speaker.

Mr. Everett is, we believe, 65 years of age, tall, rather portly
than otherwise, his hair, trimmed short, is nearly white, and we
learn from those who have heard him before that either advanc-
ing years or illness have considerably subdued the vigor of his
tones and the energy of his delivery. His features, those of a
cultivated gentleman, have been or will be made familiar to
most through the portraits of him which have been published.

We have no desire to attempt any sketch of Mr. Everett’s
address further than to glance at a very few points. He spoke
of three eras in Washington’s life — when he fought in the old
French War, when he took command of the American forces,
and when he retired from that command. He spoke of what he
denominated the “Age of Washington,” reviewed the history of
the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century ; enumer-
ated the great things that had been done, and the great men
that had figured within that space of time to which future ages
would turn as the Era of Washington; contrasted the character
of the American hero and statesman with that of Peter the
Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, or Hapoleon
the Great of France.

From Major Washington’s visit to Venango down to the last
stage of President Washington’s life, the speaker followed that
great man’s career, dwelling with inimitable skill upon the
great and good points of his character.

Better still than his comparison and contrast of the character
of Washington with that of the great men of his own immediate
day, was the episode in which he turned hack to John, Duke of
Marlborough, the wittiest statesman, the most astute diploma-

222

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tist, the greatest captain of his day, yet a dishonest man, faith-
less to his sovereign, a traitor to his country, and a robber of the
brave soldiers whose strong arms gave him victory. He pic-
tured in glowing language the beauty and the grandeur of “Blen-
heim,” the seat which national gratitude or kingly extravagance
had given to the great had man, naming it after that famous
victory. After all, “Blenheim,” with its storied urn and ani-
mated bust, its pompous eulogy and lying praise, could only
serve to perpetuate the shame and infamy of John Churchill.
But away on the banks of the calm Potomac, there rose an
humble mansion, bought with no money wrested from the hands
of an oppressed and reluctant people, a mansion in which the
Father of his Country lived quietly and well with his beloved
Martha, and from which he passed away peacefully to the bosom
of his Cod. Around that humble mansion clustered hallowed
recollections unstained by aught that could dim their purity.
That home the women of America sought to secure, that they
might guard it as a sacred trust, restore it to the pristine beauty
and simplicity in which its great owner had left it, and transmit
it as a sacred heritage to their children forever.

In the course of his oration, Mr. Everett alluded very feel-
ingly to Washington’s last and most emphatic advice to his
countrymen, to preserve the Union of the States. He drew him-
self a most painful picture of the probable effect of disunion.

The audience was the fullest we have ever seen in Wilming-
ton. We should think the receipts will not vary much from a
thousand dollars. We believe all were pleased, many delighted,
none dissatisfied, although some, perhaps, looked for a rather
different style of speaking, more, perhaps, of what is generally
regarded as oratory, more stirring, more declamatory. The ad-
dress was highly polished, beautiful in conception, chaste, yet
magnificent in execution, the work of a scholar, a rhetorician,
faultlessly delivered, too faultlessly for an orator, perhaps, for
oratory is never finished, it suggests more than it directly con-
veys, its apparent failures are sometimes its most effective
points, its seeming, mayhaps its real forgetfulness, makes us,
too, forget, carries us away, leads our feelings captive ; we cease
to mark gesture or tone, we feel but do not analyze our feelings.
Mr. Everett may be, perhaps is, something more or higher than
an orator, but he is also something different.

Notable Incidents

223

RECEPTION OF THE REMAINS OE JOHN C.
CALHOUN.

In April, 1850, one of the most remarkable demonstrations
in the history of Wilmington occurred on the occasion of the
death of the illustrious John C. Calhoun. The following ex-
cerpts from the local newspapers of that date indicate the pro-
found emotion which stirred the hearts of our people :

Another of the master spirits of the country has passed from
time to eternity. John C. Calhoun died in the City of Wash-
ington on Sunday morning last. The sad intelligence of his
death was to some extent anticipated from recent reports of his
dangerous sickness, yet it will strike with heavy force upon the
public mind.

The following telegraphic dispatch, dated Washington, March
31st, we copy from the Charleston Mercury of Monday: “Mr.
Calhoun died this morning at a quarter past seven o’clock in
the full possession of his faculties. A few hours previous he
directed his son. Dr. John C. Calhoun, to lock up his manu-
scripts, and just before his death he beckoned him to his bedside
and, with his eyes fixed upon him, expired. He died without
the slightest symptom of pain, and to the last his eyes retained
their brilliancy. With his son, there were at his bedside, Mr.
Venable, of North Carolina, and Messrs. Orr and Wallace, of
South Carolina. Mr. Venable has been devoted in his atten-
tions to him for weeks, and is entitled to the deepest gratitude.
The body will be placed in a metallic coffin and deposited in
the Congressional Burial Ground until the wishes of his family
are ascertained.

“The Governor of South Carolina has appointed a committee
of twenty-five, consisting of citizens of Charleston, to proceed
to Washington to receive and convey to his native State the
remains of John C. Calhoun.”

Wilmington Chronicle.

Wednesday, April 24, 1850.

Remains of Me. Calhoun.

It is expected that the remains of Mr. Calhoun will reach
Wilmington today about 12 o’clock. The Committee of Ar-
rangements publish the following:

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Order of Procession.

For escorting the remains of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun.

The procession will he formed in the following order, the right rest-
ing on the railroad depot, in open order, for the reception of the corps
of attendants on the arrival of the cars.

Order of Procession.

Clergy of the various denominations.

Sergeant at arms and assistants.

Pallbearers.

Coffin.

Pallbearers.

Relations of the deceased.

Committee of the U. S. Senate.

Committee of South Carolina.

Committee of Arrangements.

Citizens of South Carolina.

Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts.

Members of the bar.

Members of the medical profession.

Magistrate of police and commissioners of the town, collector of
customs and officers of the United States service, president and
directors of the Wilmington and Raleigh R. R., members of the
various societies of the town, in citizen dress, teachers of the schools
and academies, captains of vessels and seamen, citizens and strangers.

The Committee of Arrangements recommend the following
to their fellow-citizens : A committee of ten, consisting of A. J.
DeRosset, sr., James Owen, James F. McRee, sr., Thomas H.
Wright, P. K. Dickinson, John Walker, William C. Betten-
court, Thomas Boring, F. J. Hill, of Brunswick, and James
Iredell, of Raleigh, will proceed up the line of the Wilmington
and Raleigh R. R. to receive the remains, and escort them in
their passage through the State. These gentlemen will also act
as pallbearers in the procession.

The citizens generally are requested to close their stores, to
suspend all operations of business, and to meet at the depot at
12 o’clock. There the procession will be formed, under the
direction of William C. Howard as chief marshal, to receive
the remains in open order and escort them to the foot of Market
Street, where the boat for Charleston, the Nina, will he waiting
to receive them.

A gun from the wharf of the Wilmington and Raleigh R. R.
Co. will give the earliest notice of the arrival of the cars. Imme-
diately upon the firing of this gun, the fiags of the public build-

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225

ings and the ships in port will be struck at half-mast ; the bells
of the town will commence tolling and minute guns will be fired.

The clergy and the pallbearers are requested to call at Messrs.
Dawsons’ store for gloves and crape. The citizens will find a
supply of crape at the same place.

The steamer will leave for Charleston, it is expected, about

five o’clock, p. m. Wm. 0. Howard, G. M.

J. G. Green.

Eli W. Hale, Asst. M.

Tuesday, April 23, 1850.

The steamer Nina arrived here yesterday from Charleston,
for the purpose of conveying hence to that city the remains of
Mr. Calhoun.

Courtesy: The mayor of Charleston has, on behalf of the

city, tendered its hospitalities to the magistrate of police of
Wilmington and the committee appointed to receive the remains
of Mr. Calhoun on the passage through this place to South Caro-
lina. Colonel Miller, the magistrate of police, has addressed a
polite note to the mayor accepting the courteous proffer. The
South Carolina State Committee of Arrangements has also in-
vited the Wilmington committee to proceed to Charleston, join
in the funeral solemnities, and become the guests of the city.

The committee of the Senate appointed to accompany the
remains of Mr. Calhoun to South Carolina has invited three
gentlemen of the House to accompany them, to wit : Mr. Holmes,
Mr. Winthrop, and Mr. Venable, all of whom have accepted the
invitation.

The following is copied from the Wilmington Chronicle of
May 1, 1850 :

On Wednesday last, near 2 o’clock p. m., the cars arrived from
Weldon, bringing in the mortal remains of John C. Calhoun,
in the special charge of Mr. Beale, the sergeant at arms of the
United States Senate, and Senators Mason, of Virginia, Clarke,
of Rhode Island, Dickinson, of Hew York, Davis, of Missouri,
and Dodge, of Iowa, and Mr. Berrien, of Georgia. The other
members of the Senate Committee joined them in Charleston,
having gone on some days before. Mr. Venable, of Horth Caro-
lina, Mr. Holmes, of South Carolina, members of the House of
Representatives, accompanied the committee by invitation. Mr.
Winthrop, of Massachusetts, who had likewise been invited to
15

226

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

form one of the company, was prevented from doing so. A com-
mittee of twenty-five from South Carolina and three of the sons
of the deceased also accompanied the remains. The citizens of
North Carolina to whom had been assigned the duty of attend-
ing on the remains whilst passing through Wilmington, pro-
ceeded up the railroad and joined the train some thirty or forty
miles above, and in the procession from the depot to the steamer
at the wharf acted as pallbearers. The arrangements as to the
procession, etc., were carried into effect in accordance with the
program published in our last issue.

The following we take from the J ournal :

On the arrival of the cars, the stores and places of business
were closed, the shipping in port struck their colors to half-mast,
the hells of the various churches were tolled, and minute guns
fired while the procession moved from the depot down Front
Street to the steamer Nina , lying at Market Dock, where she
was waiting to receive the remains of the lamented deceased,
and convey them to the city of Charleston.

Notwithstanding the inclemency of the day, the procession
was, we think, the largest we have ever seen in this place.
Everybody seemed anxious to pay the last respect to the states-
man and orator who has so long and so faithfully filled some of
the most responsible posts of his country.

The steamer Governor Dudley , handsomely decorated for the
occasion, accompanied the Nina , taking over a portion of the
committees and guests to the city of Charleston. Both steamers
left the wharf about half past three o’clock p. m.

Wilmington Committee. — The gentlemen whose names follow
went to Charleston on Wednesday last with the remains of Mr.
Calhoun, as a committee from the citizens of Wilmington, in
manifestation of respect for the memory of the illustrious de-
ceased: Dr. A. J. DeRosset, sr., J. T. Miller, Gen. James Owen,
C. D. Ellis, Gen. L. H. Marsteller, P. M. Walker, Thomas
Loring, A. J. DeRosset, jr., Dr. J. E. McRee, jr., Dr. John
Swann, Dr. William A. Berry, James Fulton, James G. Green,
Henry R. Savage, William C. Bettencourt, Edward Cantwell,
John Cowan, John L. Holmes, Eli W. Hall, Joseph J. Lippitt,
Henry Nutt, Robert H. Cowan, and A. A. Brown.

The Charleston Courier of Saturday says: ((A committee

appointed by the citizens of Wilmington came on in the steamer
Nina and was met at the landing by the chairman of the Com-

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227

mittee of Reception, who welcomed them to the city and ex-
tended to them its hospitalities, to which Dr. DeRosset, sr., their
chairman, responded in an appropriate manner.”

We shonld be greatly lacking in courtesy were we not to ex-
press in this public manner the high sense of gratefulness which
rests with the Wilmington committee for the manifold atten-
tions and kindnesses bestowed upon them in Charleston by the
Committee of Reception and by many others. The profuse and
elegant hospitality of which the members of our committee were
the objects is very deeply appreciated by them individually and
collectively.

DEATH OF GE HERAT JAMES IVOR McKAY.

In Mr. Webster’s letter from Wilmington, already quoted,
he makes reference to a Mr. McKay as personifying political
sentiment outside the town of Wilmington.

Gen. James Ivor McKay was born in Bladen County in 1793,
and died suddenly at Goldsboro, H. C., the 15th of September,
1853, while on his way home from Tarboro. His name, “Ivor,”
was altogether appropriate, for he was eminently great. In the
campaign of 1844 his report as chairman of the Committee of
Ways and Means constituted the Democratic platform on which
Polk was elected President; and in 1848 the Democrats of
Horth Carolina presented him as their candidate for the Vice
Presidency.

It was said of this distinguished son of the Cape Fear that
he was very quiet and reserved in his deportment and held in
contempt all manner of base dealing and trickery — a man of
such integrity that his presence always inspired confidence and
trustfulness in those whose expressions he desired, because they
believed in his fidelity.

The Wilmington Daily Journal of September 16, 1853, the
day after his death, said :

“It becomes our painful duty this morning to announce the
unexpected death of one of our most worthy citizens, Gen.
James I. McKay, of Bladen County. General McKay arrived
here on last Monday night from his residence in Bladen en route
for Tarboro, in Edgecombe County, as a witness in the case of
the State against Armstrong. When we saw him on Tuesday
morning he was apparently in better health than for some time

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

previous, and conversed freely. We learn that on his return
from Edgecombe yesterday afternoon he was taken suddenly ill
on board the cars, and on arriving at Goldsboro it was found
necessary for him to stop, where he expired, at Mrs. Borden’s
hotel, at a quarter before 8 o’clock yesterday evening, of bilious
or cramp colic, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

“As a public man, General McKay was well known to be a
firm and consistent Democrat, having served his constituents
for eighteen years, from 1831 to 1849, as member of Congress
from this district, and during that time, at one period, occupy-
ing with marked ability the high and very responsible office of
chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, of which com-
mittee he was chairman at the time of the passage of the Tariff
Bill of 1846. As a representative, no member of Congress com-
manded more attention or respect. He might truly he said to
have served his constituents ‘till he voluntarily retired’ as a
national representative, always looking to the best interests of
the whole country, and discarding all factions and sectional
jealousies.”

At a meeting of the members of the Wilmington Bar held on
Saturday, the 17th day of September, 1853, the following pro-
ceedings were had :

“On motion of H. L. Holmes, Esq., Robert Strange, jr.,
Thomas C. Miller, Mauger London, and David Reid, were ap-
pointed a committee to prepare resolutions expressive of the
regret of the members of the bar, upon hearing of the death of
Hon. James I. McKay, who died suddenly at Goldsboro, on
Thursday evening last. Mr. Strange, from the committee, re-
ported the following preamble and resolutions :

This meeting of the members of the Wilmington Bar has heard with
deep regret of the sudden and melancholy death of Hon. James I.
McKay, of Bladen County. General McKay for many years was a
leading practitioner in the courts of this circuit, and since he retired
from the bar, has been greatly distinguished in the councils of the
nation. The force of his intellect won for him this high position,
and strict adherence to his principles and great regard for the honor
and safety of his country, combined with almost unparalleled integ-
rity as a public man, secured to him a national reputation, of which
North Carolina may justly be proud.

While the death of General McKay is a loss to the whole country, yet
we with whom he has been more immediately associated, can not with-
hold this slight tribute of respect to his memory.

Therefore resolved, That by the death of Hon. James I. McKay, North
Carolina has been deprived of one of her most distinguished citizens,

Notable Incidents

229

and the whole nation of one whose faithful adherence to the Con-
stitution of his country, and whose great ability and honesty of pur-
pose, have won the admiration of men of all parties.

At Wilmington, as his remains were borne through the city,
there was a great public demonstration. His body was met by
the military, all the bells of the city tolled, and an escort accom-
panied the remains to their last resting place in the family bury-
ing ground on the home plantation in Bladen. The steamboat
which conveyed the sad cortege from Wilmington to Elizabeth-
town was decked in the habiliments of woe, and its wailing
monotone resounded continuously through the forests that lined
the banks of the river.

GOVERNOR EDWARD B. DUDLEY.

Among the many great men who have adorned the life of our
community and contributed to the prosperity of this section of
the State, no one has surpassed in usefulness Edward B. Dudley.

On the occasion of his death, Robert H. Cowan was selected
by the citizens of Wilmington to deliver an address commem-
orative of his life and character, and performed that public
service on the eighth day of November, 1855. From Colonel
Cowan’s address we learn that Governor Dudley was born in
Onslow County, December 15, 1789, and died in Wilmington
on the 30th of October, 1855. When twenty-one years of age
he represented Onslow in the House of Commons, and in 1813
and 1814 in the Senate. During the war with England he
came to Wilmington, the second in command of the regiment of
volunteers who flocked from the neighboring counties to repel
threatened British invasion. In 1815 he removed to Wilming-
ton, and in 1816 and 1817 he represented the town of Wilming-
ton in the House of Commons. In politics he was a Republi-
can, as distinguished from the Federalists. Governor Holmes,
who was the representative of the district in Congress, having
died in November, 1829, Mr. Dudley was elected to fill the
vacancy. At that time he was a Jackson man; but not being
satisfied with the policy of the administration, in Congress he
attached himself to the opposition, and then declined reelection,
saying, “I can not, fellow-citizens, forego my own opinion for
that of any man. I acknowledge no master but the law and
duty — no party but the interests of my country.” He was,

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

more than any other man, the father of the Wilmington and
Weldon Railroad and was its first president. He was elected
governor, in 1836, the first governor chosen by the people — and
doubtless selected because of his advocacy of internal improve-
ments. aHe possessed administrative ability of a very rare
order; and his administration as governor was one of the most
efficient and practically useful which North Carolina has ever
known” — and moreover “his hospitality was dispensed so liber-
ally, so graciously, and with such a warm and open heart, that
it will long be remembered by all who had occasion to visit the
capital while he occupied the Executive Mansion. * * * His
whole energies were given to the cause of internal improvements,
for the development of the resources of North Carolina, and for
the building up of her commercial greatness. * * * The

completion of a liberal system of internal improvements and the
establishment of a permanent system of common schools formed
the highest objects of his ambition. His career proves that he is
well entitled to the proud name of Father of Internal Improve-
ments in North Carolina. He was far in advance of his age;
but he lived to see the State arouse from her lethargy and adopt
the measures he had forecast with sagacity and enlarged and
enlightened patriotism.”

Addressing the stockholders of the Wilmington and Weldon
Railroad Company, Colonel Cowan said: “You must remember
that yours was the pioneer work in North Carolina, that it was
an experiment, that it was undertaken without sufficient means,
that it was condemned beforehand as a failure, that it encoun-
tered troubles, trials, difficulties of the most extraordinary char-
acter; that nothing but the most indomitable energy, the most
liberal enterprise, the most unceasing patience, the most deter-
mined spirit of perseverance, could have enabled it to surmount
these difficulties. Governor Dudley brought all of these quali-
fications to the task and commanded the success which he so
eminently deserved. He subscribed a considerable portion of his
large estate to its completion. He devoted all his time, all his
talents, and all his energies, and that too at an immense loss
from the neglect of his private interests, to put it into successful
operation. Nor did his services nor his personal sacrifices stop
there. When your offices, your warehouses and your workshops,
and all of your machinery which was not then in actual use
were laid in ruins by the terrible fire of 1843 ; when a heap of
smouldering embers marked the spot where all of your posses-

Notable Incidents

231

sions in Wilmington the day before had stood ; when your most
ardent friends had begun to despair ; when your own merchants
had refused to credit yon, and, regarded merely from a business
point of view, had justly refused, because they had already ex-
tended their confidence beyond the limits of prudence; when
your long sinking credit was at last destroyed and your failure
seemed inevitable — Governor Dudley came forward and pledged
the whole of his private estate as your security, and thus, with
renewed confidence in your solvency, you were enabled to go on
to that complete success which awaited you entirely through his
exertions.”

Such was the character of the man — a man of generous senti-
ments, of high courtesy, of true courage. He set a noble exam-
ple, was distinguished in all the practical elements of life, and
was eminently good in all of his social relations. Thus his
death was mourned as a general loss, and his memory is treas-
ured by the people of Wilmington.

THE WILKIN GS-ELANNER DUEL.

On the evening of the 30th of April, 1856, the old New Han-
over County Courthouse, on Princess Street in Wilmington, was
“packed and jammed” by an enthusiastic and excited meeting
of the local Democratic association, of which Dr. John D. Bel-
lamy was the president, J. D. Gardner, jr., and C. H. Robinson,
the secretaries. Eli W. Hall, Esq., a prominent lawyer, was
called to the chair and made an eloquent address upon political
affairs out of which had arisen a strong party contest for com-
missioners of navigation. He showed how Know-Nothing vic-
tories had been won over an unsuspecting people, and party
issues forced upon a community in whose local affairs they had
been previously unknown.

Dr. W. C. Wilkings, a prominent young physician and poli-
tician, was loudly called for, and he responded in an animated
and stirring address (so runs the Journal) in which he por-
trayed the absurdity, the nonsense, the arrogance of the assump-
tion of exclusive Americanism, made, he said, by the anti-Demo-
cratic party. He was followed by Moody B. Smith, a strong
speaker, who was listened to with close attention, interrupted
by frequent applause.

At the conclusion of his speech, Mr. Ashe moved a vote of
thanks to the speakers.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

On Saturday, May 3, 1856, another grand rally of the Demo-
crats was held in front of the Carolina Hotel, on Market and
Second Streets, and the assembled crowd proceeded thence with
torches at a late hour in the evening to “The Oaks,” on Dry
Pond.

The Journal says that insulting reference had been made by
the Know-Nothings to the “Sand Hill Tackies.” Hon. Warren
Winslow was the principal speaker and received the thanks of
the assembly for his eloquent address. He was followed by Mr.
John L. Holmes, who spoke in earnest and stirring style. The
fateful election of commissioners of navigation, which was to
include one of the most painful tragedies in the history of Wil-
mington, occurred on the 5th of May, 1856.

The J ournal says that by some strange mistake an active and
staunch Democrat, in the heat and excitement of the voting, got
hold of and put in a Know-Nothing vote, thus in fact electing
Mr. Flanner, whereas, had the mistake not occurred, Mr. Costin
would have been elected.

In the meantime, intense excitement throughout the town was
caused by a rumor that Dr. Wilkings’ speech, referred to, had
incensed his friend, Mr. J. H. Flanner, who had published a
card which resulted in a challenge to mortal combat from Dr.
Wilkings. I was then nine years of age, at Jewett’s school, and
I remember distinctly the excitement of the schoolboys while
Mr. Flanner dashed past the schoolhouse behind his two black
thoroughbreds on the way to the fatal meeting.

The Herald of Monday, May 5, 1856, said : “Our community
was painfully startled on Saturday afternoon last by the recep-
tion of a telegraphic dispatch from Marion, S. C., to the effect
that a hostile meeting had taken place near Fair Bluff, between
Dr. William C. Wilkings and Joseph H. Flanner, Esq., both
young men and citizens of this place, and that on the third fire
the former received the ball of his antagonist through the lungs,
and in a very few moments expired. The difficulty grew out of
a speech made by Dr. Wilkings on Wednesday evening last at
the Democratic meeting at the courthouse. They fought with
pistols, at ten paces, Dr. Wilkings being the challenger.” The
gloom over this dreadful affair hung for many years over those
who participated in it, and the principal who survived the duel,
and, going abroad as a State agent, survived the four years’ war,
died some years later, it is said unhappy and under a cloud in
a foreign land.

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233

The following cards are taken from the Daily Journal , May
5, 7, and 8, 1856, to show something of the temper of the public
mind with reference to this sad and exciting affair.

Died.

Died in Marion district, S. C., on the 3d instant, Dr. W. C.
Wilkings, of Wilmington, Y. C., aged about 30 years.

Lost to the community in the full promise of a glorious man-
hood, few men could be more deeply or more generally regretted
than our deceased friend. Brave, ardent, and generous, gifted
by nature, refined and strengthened by education, there lay be-
fore him the prospect of a long, useful, and honorable career.
That career has been cut short, the promise of his ripe manhood
left unfulfilled, and he has gone down to his grave before his
time, but his memory will long survive in the hearts of his
friends, and the turf that rests over his cold form be kept green
by the unbidden tear starting even from eyes that knew him not
in life.

Our intimate acquaintance with Dr. Wilkings was of com-
paratively recent date, and arose out of community of political
feeling. But we soon learned to love and respect the man for
himself, and we now mourn him as a personal friend. It is
for those who have known him longer and better than we to do
justice to his character. We could not omit this feeble and in-
adequate tribute to his memory.

Yesterday his remains were followed to their last resting place
in Oakdale Cemetery by the largest and most deeply affected
concourse of people that has ever been seen in Wilmington.
Many an eye was wet, although long unused to tears, and as the
solemn bell tolled all hearts throbbed mournfully and painfully.
When he died, a MAY, a noble, true-hearted man, passed from
amongst us.

Today.

Saddened by a great calamity in our midst, we have no heart
today for political discussion. Overpowered by feelings beyond
our ability to express, we know that mere words would be out of
place. Standing in heart by the freshly opened grave of a valued
friend, whose warm grasp yet thrills through our frame, can we
be expected to raise a shout of contest or victory ? Duty to our

234

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

principles alone impels us, but, in sorrow or in joy, that feeling
should predominate. We trust that it will prove so today, that,
though saddened, the Democrats are not disheartened.

Now is not the time to speak of recent events. Now is not the
time to harrow up hearts yet bleeding, and we forbear. That
God who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb will be the com-
forter and sustainer of the bereaved ones in their deep affliction.
Let ns trust that His helping hand will not be withheld, that
He will pour balm into the bleeding wounds, that He will bind
up the broken hearts of those whose sorrow is more than they
can bear.

Wilmington, N. C., May 6, 1856.

As there are reports in circulation calculated to do the undersigned
much injustice, in reference to the late unfortunate difficulty between
Mr. Flanner and Dr. Wilkings, we feel compelled to state that with
the advice of our lamented friend, Dr. Wilkings, we expressed our-
selves on different occasions as perfectly willing to agree to any
honorable settlement; and under the influence of this feeling, when,
after the second exchange of shots, Dr. James F. McRee, jr., who was
acting in the capacity of surgeon to both parties (both being present),
approached and expressed a warm desire that the matter should be
settled, saying that “it had gone far enough, and ought to be settled,
that both parties had acted fairly and honorably, and had shown to
us, as well as to the world, that they would always be ready to resent
any imputation on their honor,” and then proposed, for the purpose
of giving Dr. Wilkings an opportunity of making an explanation
of his remarks made in the courthouse, that Mr. Flanner should with-
draw his card published in the Herald of the 1st inst., to which we
assented, expressing our willingness, if the card was withdrawn, to
disclaim for Dr. Wilkings using the language imputed to him by Mr.
Flanner. This proposition, coming as it did from a friend of both
parties, we sincerely desired would be accepted by the opposite party.
It was not, and the matter proceeded to its unfortunate termination.

W. M. Walker.

F. N. Waddell, jr.

These are the very words, we think. Dr. McRee doubtless recollects.

The above card, with a few slight alterations, was prepared
for publication last evening, but was withheld at the suggestion
of a friend, in order, if possible, to make a joint statement by
both parties. With that purpose in view, I called upon Mr.
O. P. Meares, and handed him the card for his perusal, suggest-
ing at the time that if there was any modification he desired
and we approved of it, we would sign it. He objected to the

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235

card on the ground that it did not contain a proposition for a
settlement of the difficulty which he, Mr. Meares, had offered
me; the acceptance of which, on consultation, was declined, be-
cause we felt it would sacrifice the honor of our friend. This
proposition was not inserted in the original card, because we
did not consider it pertinent to our exculpation from the charges
now rife in the community. I then requested Mr. Meares to
reduce his proposition to writing, which he did, but as we differ
so materially in our respective recollections of its character, I
thought it but right to publish his as well as my own recollection

of W. M. Walker.

The last conversation held between Mr. Meares and Mr. Walker, be-
fore the third fire, was after the following manner and to this effect:
Mr. Meares called Mr. Walker to him and said that he was willing
to make a fair and honorable settlement, that he, Mr. Meares, would
not make an unconditional retraction of Mr. Planner’s card, but he, Mr.
Meares, would make in writing a withdrawal or retraction for a
specific purpose, and that specific purpose (expressed in the same
paper writing) should be to allow an explanation on the part of
Dr. Wilkings, to which Mr. Walker replied that he would consult
his friends, and then walked to where his friends were, and after con-
versing with them for a few moments, remarked that we would have
to go to work again. Whereupon we immediately loaded the pistols
and the third fire was had.

O. P. Meares.

May 6, 1856, 12 o’clock.

N. B. — Mr. Meares, at the request of Mr. Walker, gives him the above
as his statement of his proposition made to Mr. Walker immediately
before the third fire.

Mr. O. P. Meares,

Dear Sir : — After having duly considered the above statement, and not
being able to reconcile it to my recollection of our conversation, I
consulted my friend, Mr. Waddell, to whom I had repeated it word for
word in a few moments after its occurrence. I find his recollection
accords with my own, and that is, that your proposition made to me on
the above occasion, was to the following effect: Dr. Wilkings should

request in writing a withdrawal of the card of Mr. Planner and in the
same writing should state what would be the character of his, Dr.
Wilkings’, explanation. In this event, you furthermore stated you
would consent to withdraw Mr. Planner’s card for that specific pur-
pose, viz.: for the purpose of receiving Dr. Wilkings’ explanation.
This proposition, as friends of Dr. Wilkings, having his honor in our
keeping, we felt bound to reject.

W. M. Walker.

May 6, 1856, 2 o’clock p. m.

236

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

To the Public.

I take this method of making a few statements in explana-
tion of the course pursued by me in connection with the recent
duel. I can say, with a clear conscience, that I was fully im-
pressed with the responsibility which was attached to my posi-
tion. I knew that upon one unguarded expression, or one im-
prudent act of mine, might depend the life of a fellow-being. I
can also say that I was not actuated by any feeling of enmity
towards the late Dr. Wilkings. We had been horn and reared in
the same community, and though not intimate friends, we had
never had any personal difficulty in our lives. I can say, too,
that Mr. Planner made the declaration before he left town, as
he did on the field after the second fire, that he did not desire
to take the life of his opponent, and that he hoped a fair and
honorable settlement would be made. Por these reasons, I went
upon the field with the full determination to accept any propo-
sition for a settlement which I could regard as fair and honor-
able, and during the conversation which occurred after the sec-
ond exchange of shots, I repeatedly said that I desired a fair
and honorable settlement. By way of showing my willingness
for such a settlement, I call attention to the fact, that, as the
representative of the challenged party, my duty was simply to
receive and consider such propositions as might be made by the
challenging party, and such is the course usually pursued by
persons when placed in the same position, and yet I went beyond
my duty by making the proposition for a withdrawal for a spe-
cific purpose, as set forth in the card signed by me and pub-
lished by Mr. Walker in the Journal of yesterday.

I deem it due to the public to state, that the first mention
which was made of a settlement was immediately after the first
fire, when Dr. James P. McKee, jr., who was acting as the sur-
geon for both parties, remarked that he hoped the difficulty
could now be settled, as the parties had taken one fire. Where-
upon, I turned to Mr. W. M. Walker, who was the representa-
tive of the other party, and asked him the question, in the pres-
ence of all the parties : “What have you to say, Mr. Walker ?”
To which he immediately replied as follows : “Well, sir, we still
occupy our former position ; you must retract and apologize for
your card.” I then said, “Is this all you have to say ?” He an-
swered, “Yes.” And then I said, “We have no retraction or

Notable Incidents

237

apology to make.” We then loaded the pistols and the second
fire was made.

The object of this card is not to give a full account of all the
facts which occurred upon the field ; it is merely to state what is
sufficient, and no more, to explain the course which I pursued
upon the field. In conclusion, I will say that the position taken
by me with regard to a settlement was that I was willing to
retract Mr. Planner ?s card for a specific purpose, it being so
expressed in writing, hut that I would not make an uncondi-
tional retraction of his card.

I regret the necessity which compels me to publish even this
much upon this subject.

May 8, 1856.

O. P. Meares.

The allegation in Dr. Wilkings’ speech that the ticket of the
opposition was composed of merchants who would not hesitate
to sacrifice the public interests (quarantine, etc.) for the sake
of a dollar brought out the publication of Mr. Planner’s card on
the following day, that the statement was false, and that Dr.
Wilkings knew it was false when he made it. Wilkings promptly
challenged Planner, whose first shot struck Wilkings’ hat; the
third penetrated his right lung and killed him instantly.

Interesting Memories

OLD SCHOOL DAYS IN WILMINGTON.

Mr. Stephen Jewett, a most amiable and estimable gentle-
man, cabinet-maker by trade, settled in Smithville about tbe
year 1839, where be was employed in the United States Gov-
ernment service and also as postmaster of that village. While
residing there be married Miss Mary Gracie, a Scotch lady of
great accomplishments, intimately related to the president of
the Bank of Cape Fear, Dr. John Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Jewett
subsequently opened a school at Smithville which they con-
ducted jointly, she having been previously engaged in the pro-
fession of teaching in Wilmington. Mrs. Jewett died while on
her way to Moore County with her husband.

Some years later Mr. J ewett was married to Miss Lncy Brad-
ley, sister of the late Mr. Bichard Bradley. He then made his
home here, and became cashier of the Bank of Wilmington, in
which capacity he served, honored and respected by the com-
munity, until his death during the yellow fever epidemic in
1862.

Mr. George W. Jewett, a professional school-teacher of supe-
rior attainments, came to Wilmington from Kent Hill, Maine,
at the suggestion of his brother Stephen, about the year 1852,
and opened the Wilmington Male and Female Seminary in a
small frame house on the west side of Third Street, near Ann
Street, and later in the old Society Hall in the rear of St.
James’s Church. He was assisted in the female department by
his accomplished wife and two other Northern ladies, Miss Stet-
son and Miss Whipple. A large majority of Mr. Jewett’s boys
at that time were sons of the best people of our community, with
a reasonable knowledge of the rules of propriety, notwithstand-
ing which his school discipline was marked, under the influence
of passion, by frequent acts of unnecessary severity, and, at
times, by positive cruelty ; which, instead of breaking down his
institution, increased the patronage, our fathers in those days
evidently regarding such physical treatment as both wholesome
and necessary. There were a few very disorderly boys, how-
ever, who deserved a whipping as regularly as they got it. Who,

[238]

Interesting Memories

239

among the survivors of the incorrigibles, can forget the stern
command: “Walk into the recitation room, sir/’ over which
apartment might have been written, “He who enters here leaves
hope behind” ; because the unhappy culprit to whom this com-
mand was addressed at once gave himself up for lost, reminding
us of Marryat’s boy, Walter Puddock, who, having been hauled
up by his preceptor, O’ Gallagher, without remonstrance imme-
diately began to prepare for punishment by the reduction of
wearing apparel.

Oft repeated flagellations, according to the testimony of the
old-time Eton hoys, render the subject callous, and some of these
hopeless cases of Mr. Jewett’s became so hardened by this proc-
ess that they ceased to make an outcry, and, in the language of
the prize ring, came up smiling after the first round, while the
preceptor had evidently the worst of it.

Two habitual offenders, Henry McKoy and William Fergus,
however, found it necessary to protect themselves from the neck
downwards with padding, which sometimes shifted during the
inevitable struggle, causing yells of entreaty which could be
heard at a great distance.

Perhaps the most laughable scene in our four years’ prepara-
tion for college was the startling appearance one morning of one
of these boys changed from his attenuated habit of a lean and
hungry Cassius to a wonderful state of exaggerated obesity,
which Mr. Jewett promptly discovered and proceeded to unroll
and reduce before punishment, with the anxious inquiry,
“Where on earth did you get all this flannel ?”

Many who were Mr. Jewett’s pupils will recall the compul-
sory singing lessons and the noisy demonstrations when the ex-
hilarating and senseless fugues of “Three Blind Mice” and
“Scotland’s Burning” were rendered in conclusion.

Two or three years later the school was removed to the prem-
ises on the east corner of Third and Ann Streets and continued
until the commencement of the war, when Mr. Jewett went to
Statesville, where he taught for a while. He returned to Wil-
mington about the close of the war and resumed teaching in the
house occupied by the late Captain Divine, and subsequently
on the corner of Second and Chestnut Streets, hut left about the
year 1881 for his former home in Maine, where he died of heart
disease. The summons came suddenly, while he was sitting
dressed in his chair. He simply straightened out his arms and
ceased to breathe.

240

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

While teaching in the Wood house, on the corner of Second
and Chestnut Streets, an incident occurred which has been
treasured by the surviving pupils as one of the few occasions
when the boys “got ahead of” their alert preceptor. Doc Nutt
and John Cantwell were reckoned as the incorrigibles of the
school, and they ceased not to torment the teacher with their
irrepressible pranks ; it was, therefore, not at all unusual when
Mr. Jewett, at the closing hour, ordered them one fine afternoon
to remain for punishment. The hours wore away until night-
fall, and as the teacher came not, the truth dawned on the de-
linquents that he had forgotten them. They heard his tread
upstairs returning from the lodge meeting, followed by a still-
ness which convinced them that he had retired for the night.
Immediately Doc’s fertile brain hatched out a plot ; a whispered
agreement was made in the semi-darkness of the room; the
window on Second Street, which was only a few feet from the
ground was raised; the two boys climbed gently to the street
and lowered the sash to a chip on the sill, so that they could grip
it on the outside. They then proceeded homeward, and after a
hearty supper and a sound sleep, they reappeared at school at
daylight and noiselessly assumed their places at their desks.
When the old woman who made the fires and swept the room
appeared later, she was fairly astounded to see them sleepily
conning the tasks assigned to them. With a loud exclamation
she brought Mr. Jewett down in his night clothes. He was pro-
fuse in his apologies — distressed with the thought of his forget-
fulness— and tenderly solicitous for their welfare. They had
suffered enough, he said, and were excused from attendance
until the following day. The scamps played their part well,
and wisely kept their own counsel.

Market Street between Third and Fourth Streets was a busy
scene of healthful sport for the boys during the hour of recess ;
“old hundred,” “three-handed cat,” games of marbles “for fun”
and “for winnance,” spinning tops of all descriptions — the most
approved and expensive being fashioned by William Kellogg —
“jumping frog,” walking on the hands with the heels in the air,
and other diversions made Jack anything but a dull boy. John
Rankin took first distinction in putting a top to sleep; Steve
Jewett was most skillful at marbles; little Tom Wright excelled
at the bat; Jim Metts jumped without running and turned a
somersault in the air ; he also walked on his hands a whole block,
followed on foot by an admiring throng; and Richard Moore’s

Interesting Memories 241

wonderful skill sent a clamshell straight over St. James’s
Church tower.

Periodically, good Miss Urquhart, who lived in the house
now Dr. Thomas’ office, mildly expostulated when the clamor
became unbearable; and “sounders,” who drove their carts full
of ground-peas to market, complained that the leakage in pass-
ing the school, caused by large stones placed in the cart ruts by
the boys, was intolerable. These were minor incidents of con-
stant recurrence; but when Mr. Jewett himself marked time
with his big brass hand-bell, in the chorus of

Scotland’s burning! Scotland’s burning!

Look out! Look out!

Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!

Pour on water! Pour on water!

and the town bell in the market house brought the Howard Re-
lief with their hand engine and Captain Griffith with his Hook
and Ladder Company, our joy was unconfined.

Jewett’s boys generally turned out well; many became emi-
nent in their professions. One of the most studious, dignified
boys was Platt Dickinson Walker, forecasting his elevation to
the Supreme Court.

Only two of the forty boys (which was the numerical limit)
became a reproach to the school ; neither was a fit associate, and
both were finally expelled. One became a horse thief, and the
other a murderer ; both were outlawed. In my youth they were
held up to me by my parents as horrid examples of total de-
pravity, in striking contrast with the shining virtues of our
neighbors, the Calder boys, whose footsteps I have always en-
deavored to follow.

A system of monitors was a part of Mr. Jewett’s method of
discipline. At first, in the old school, these very brilliant exam-
ples of his favor were privileged to fire the stove, sweep the
room, bring in water, and to take a half holiday on Friday; but
later this espionage became offensive and fell into desuetude.

Mr. Jewett always wore rubber shoes, which enabled him to
steal with cat-like tread upon an unsuspecting culprit absorbed
in the drawing of a caricature and administer a form of punish-
ment upon the ear which we all despised.

The recitation-room floggings were generally severe, but to
Mr. Jewett’s credit it may be said that there was no leniency
shown to his four nephews, who had all “a hard road to travel” ;
and Bradley Jewett, a bright and genial pupil, was often im-
16

242

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

posed upon in order to exhibit the discipline of the academy.
On one occasion “Brad” created a sensation h y exhibiting a
brass pistol, with which he declared he would shoot his uncle;
but it was found that the lock was broken, and this bloodthirsty
design came to naught.

Eating during school hours was strictly forbidden, hut several
boys who were incapable of very severe intellectual exercise
managed to smuggle apples, pies, cakes, and chunks of molasses
candy into their desks, which they bartered for sundry informa-
tion about the next lesson. Galloway said that Solomon’s dog
did not hark himself to death trying to keep them out of the
Temple of Wisdom.

Archie Worth, beloved by all, was so pestered by his hungry
associates while he ate his pie at recess, that he had to climb the
gatepost to enjoy his repast in peace. From that day he was
known as “’Tato Pie.” Years afterwards, while he was limping
along the roadside during the war, some strange troops passed
him, and one of them exclaimed, “Well, if there ain’t old ’Tato
Pie from Wilmington !”

Wednesday was given up to lessons and exhibitions in decla-
mation. Bob McKee, in “Robert Emmett’s Defense,” and Eu-
gene Martin, in “The Sailor Boy’s Dream,” headed the list and
melted us to tears. Clarence Martin, Junius Davis, Gilbert and
Ered Kidder, Alexander and John London, Cecil Fleming,
Duncan and Richard Moore, Platt D. Walker, John D. Barry,
John VanBokkelen, Willie Gus Wright, Levin Lane, Griffith
McRee, John Rankin, Tom Meares, Sam Peterson, Sonny West,
Eddie and Tom DeRosset, Stephen and Willie Jewett, Willie
Meares, Willie Lord, and others not now recalled, gave promise
of undying fame, in their fervid renditions of “Sennacherib,”
“Marco Bozzaris,” Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death,” “Mark
Antony’s Oration over Caesar’s dead Body,” “Kosciusko,” “The
Burial of Sir John Moore,” “Hamlet’s Soliloquy,” and “Hohen-
linden” (alas! so few survive), and John Walker and big Tom
Wright divided honors on the immortal “Casabianca.” Henry
Latimer and the writer were “tied” on the same subject, and as
I was without doubt the worst declaimer in school, my competi-
tor had an easy victory.

Our teacher endeavored to impress upon our minds, by re-
peated admonitions, the importance of graceful pose and hear-
ing upon the platform. The declaimers were required to how to
the preceptor and to the audience before proceeding with their

Interesting Memories

243

speeches. Some of these motions were very ungraceful, and
others worse. Willie Martin’s bow was like the forward move-
ment of a muscovy duck; whereupon, Mr. Jewett admonished
him and directed him to watch Mr. Edward Everett on the occa-
sion of his forthcoming eulogy of Washington, which was the
talk of the town. On the following Wednesday Willie was
called to the stage to imitate the great speaker in his how to his
audience, which was done with an expression of intense pain in
his stomach, to the great delight and derision of the whole school.

One of the most memorable exploits of our school days was
that of Walter G. MacRae, who came with his brother Roderick
to the old school near “The Castle.” He had the most retentive
memory I ever knew, and once when a column of the Daily
Journal , edited by James Eulton, which usually contained (to
us) the dryest sort of political twaddle, was read over to him,
he repeated it “sight unseen,” almost verbatim, to his admiring
audience. Many years after, we belonged to a local debating
society, and on one occasion MacRae was obliged to comply with
his appointment as the principal speaker. Picking up a book
from the table, he gave us the finest selection of the season. At
its conclusion we took the volume from his hands and found it
to be a child’s spelling book. He had recited one of Rufus
Choate’s celebrated orations.

Some of the pupils, mere lads at the commencement of hos-
tilities, fell in battle for the Lost Cause; others have dropped
by the wayside in the journey of life, and only a few survive,
of whom we recall the names and well-remembered faces of
Eugene S. Martin, Leighton Boone, Thomas H. Wright, Gilbert
P. Kidder, Richard Moore, Thomas D. Meares, John London,
George G. Thomas, Jordan Thomas, Platt D. Walker, J. T.
Rankin, H. B. Rankin, A. C. Worth, W. E. Worth, John F.
Shackelford, John T. Horthrop, James I. Metts, John B. Lord,
Stephen Jewett, Henry G. Latimer, John M. Walker. The roll
of living and dead is an honorable one and, notwithstanding un-
pleasant recollections by some who were harshly treated, reflects
honor upon the memory of him who trained them. He was
always proud of his boys ; and well he might be, for it is a well-
established fact that Mr. Jewett’s pupils were thoroughly pre-
pared for college in all the necessary branches of their matricu-
lation ; and that many who were unable, by the intervention of
the war, to enter college, owed their comparative success in life
largely to the early mental training under that able preceptor.

244

Chronicles of the Cape Fear Fiver

A characteristic incident occurred in St. John’s Lodge of
Masons a short time before Mr. Jewett’s death. A member of
the fellowcraft had just been raised to the sublime degree of
Master Mason, after a highly creditable examination, during
which he exemplified the work of three degrees with remarkable
accuracy, when Mr. Jewett arose, and with apparent pride and
emotion expressed his profound satisfaction, remarking that the
younger brother had been his pupil for four years prior to the
War between the States.

He was most cultivated and refined in his social intercourse,
which was characterized by an urbanity entirely at variance
with his professional habit.

His estimable wife died some years before him, leaving an
only daughter, who was at the close of the war a beautiful and
accomplished young lady. Miss Ella married Lieutenant Cr os-
ley, of the United States Revenue-Cutter Service, hut she died
long since, without issue.

For several decades before the war Fort Johnston was garri-
soned, and the many officers of the army quartered there added
greatly to the social life of the Lower Cape Fear. At that period
Smithville, being so easily accessible by steamer, was the favor-
ite summer resort of Wilmington families ; and there the belles
and epauletted beaux found congenial pastime, as described by
Mr. Jewett in the following lines:

THE WAYFARER’S ADIEU.

Farewell, dear Smithville! from thy pleasant halls
I haste reluctant whither duty calls:

But for a moment let me linger here
To trace a grateful word and drop a tear.

For who e’er left thy hospitable shore
And blest and wept thee not forever more?

If rash ambition tempts me to aspire
To seize the poet’s pen, without his fire,

And, all unskillful, venture to rehearse
Thy lofty virtues in heroic verse,

Appear, O Muse propitious, and supply

Such words and thoughts as fit the purpose high.

All hail, great Smithville! great in origin:

For did not Smith thy great career begin?

Great in thy old renown, when heroes bore
Their martial honors up and down thy shore,

And, strutting stiff, in yellow epaulettes,

Lured many a fair one to their gaudy nets.

Interesting Memories

245

Great in thy battlefield, our garrison,

Where Cupid’s contests still are lost and won;
Great in the outspread beauty of thy bay,

Great in the tiny fleets that on it play,

Great in thy sunshine; in thy moonlight, great,
Great in thy risings and thy sittings, late,

Great in thy sandy streets and spreading shades,
Great in fandangoes, frolics, and charades,

Great -in thy pig-fish, oysters, trout, and clams,
Great in thy raging tempests, great in calms,

Great in thy tete-a-tetes at dewy e’en,

And great, ah! very great, in crinoline.

What visions rise, what memories crowd around
My toiling pen at that suggestive sound!

But thickest cluster in the haunts of song,

Where crinolines, in scores, are wont to throng.

And thou! oh, sacred temple of The Nine,

Where wit and beauty spread their chains divine,
How shall I style thee? for thy noble name
Hath not been soiled by lips of common fame.

They call thee “cottage,” but that name I scout,
And here forever blot the scandal out.

No name plebeian, couched in vulgar words,

Is thy true title: thou’rt a “House of Lords.”

What though thou standest on Columbia’s soil,

Her sons would scorn thy regal halls to spoil;
Here, noble lords and beauteous ladies meet,

And their fair queen with loyal homage greet:
Here, too, ’twas mine to fill an humble place,

And taste, full oft, the sweets of royal grace.
Methinks I see thee as I oft have seen,

Spangled with beauty, set in crinoline.

The fair Columbia stands with stately grace;
Benignant smiles illumine her queenly face.
Victoria’s throne was bootless to confer
Imperial dignity on such as her.

And yet she stooped — what folly to record —

The royal lady stooped — to wed a Lord.

Then we turn to the court; and first observe
The lady yonder, with the restless nerve;

“A female archer”: mark her pungent wit,

In random shots, regardless whom they hit.

But most she loves to shoot the pedagogues,

As wanton boys, for pastime, pelt the frogs.

In youth she wore the honored name of Brown;
“My name,” sighed she, “is but a common noun.”

A son of science, with no heart of stone,

O’erheard her plaint, and offered her his own.

So wit and genius she vouchsafed to link
Forever with the rare name of Frink.

246

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

On yonder face, so beautiful to view,

How blend the lily’s with the rose’s hue;

Her flashing eye, in jetty radiance burns,

And almost scorches him on whom it turns.

Forth fly thy arrowy missiles; maid, beware,

Lest you should pierce the heart you mean to spare.

You may not dream that flickering hopes and fears
Hang trembling on a glance of Addie Meares.

Upon that ample brow, where jeweled thought
Is fashioned and with graceful polish wrought,

O’erhangs an eye of rare intelligence,

Whose lightest glance reveals the solid sense.

Deepest and dark, with grave and pensive ray,

Save when the radiant smiles around it play,

Who does not see through the clear, pure light
That ever guides the steps of Anna (W) right?

My eager pen, impatient to advance,

Compels me hence to take a hastier glance,

And scatter gems along the glowing line,

More brilliant than adorn Golconda’s mine.

Brown, Rankin, Cowan, Walker, Prioleau,

Shall in one brilliant constellation glow.

I gaze bedazzled, yet delight me still

My modest “Valley” and the favorite “Hill” (Miss Lossie).

But can we, Muse, the starry sphere portray,

By painting separate every golden ray?

Then let my pen this endless task resign,

And bid our stars in blended glory shine.

But hark! from rosy lips there pour along
The echoing walls the mingled streams of song.

Quick to the soul the conquering floods make way
And song and beauty hold divinest sway.

Apollo could but listen, gaze, admire,

And hate, henceforth, his goddess and his lyre.

Oh sacred, cherished spot! to yield thee up
Is gall and wormwood in my parting cup.

Farewell, farewell! May wintry winds
Strain gently on thy braces and thy pins,

May no rude storm unroof thee and expose
Thy naked ribs to their remorseless blows.

May time and whitewash still thy years prolong
To shelter beauty, genius, worth, and song.

Farewell, ye summer pleasures, bright and brief,

That fade and fall before the early leaf;

With summer suns thy leaves again return.

The life that bare you, there may fill an urn.

Farewell, ye warblers, matrons, maidens, all,

Whose forms are wont to grace our festive hall.
Farewell! May Heaven His sweetest peace diffuse
Through each pure breast as sink the gentle dews.

Interesting Memories

247

’Neath all His shielding aegis may you rest,
With life, health, love, and friendship blest.
And when from raging summer’s heats
Impelled again to flee,

You grace once more the cool retreats,

May I be there to see.

COLONEL JAMES G. BURR.

Col. James G. Burr, one of our oldest and most highly es-
teemed citizens, died November 13, 1898, aged 80 years.

He was born in Wilmington and was prominent in all of its
stirring events. For many years he was cashier of the Bank of
Cape Eear. During the War between the States, he was colonel
of the regiment of Home Guards. After the war he resumed
his profession as a banker. Later, he was assistant postmaster
of Wilmington under O. G. Parsley, Esq., during Cleveland’s
administration.

Colonel Burr, like his brother Talcott, had fine literary at-
tainments, and possessed a discriminating mind, together with
an admirable judgment of men. He was much interested in
local history and was regarded as an authority with reference to
important dates and deeds on the Cape Eear. He wrote with
precision and elegance, and contributed many interesting narra-
tives to the local press over his nom de plume , “Senex.”

Associated all through life with our leading citizens, he knew
them well, and his sketches, valuable for their accuracy, have
served to rescue from oblivion the memory of many who, in
their day, adorned our community.

Attracted by mutual interest in the tales and traditions of
the Cape Eear, many years before his death we became devoted
friends ; and, in recognition of my high regard for him, he
voluntarily made over to me all his manuscripts and publica-
tions, of which he had a large accumulation. A few weeks be-
fore his last illness, however, he came to my office and confided
to me that he had destroyed all his manuscripts.

He explained that he had been prevailed upon to republish
the distressing story of the desecration of the Holy Sacrament
by a party of twelve local debauchees in the early days of the
town, and that he had been reproached repeatedly that morning
by some descendants of those involved in that horrible affair;
that he had then returned home and made a bonfire in his back-
yard of all the manuscripts which he had promised to leave me.

248

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The condensation of his sketch of the Thalian Association,
and the article on Johnson Hooper and the British consul, how-
ever, may serve to keep his memory green.

THE THALIAN ASSOCIATION.

In 1871 Col. James G. Burr performed a grateful service to
the community by publishing a pamphlet of fifty pages giving
an account of the Thalian Association, together with sketches
of many of its members, from which the following has been con-
densed :

When, during the French and Indian War, Col. James Innes
was in command of all the colonial forces in Virginia, he made
his will, in which he devised a large part of his estate, after the
death of his wife, for the use of a free school for the benefit of
the youth of North Carolina. A quarter of a century later the
Legislature appointed trustees of “Innes Academy,” and in
1788 subscriptions were taken up among the citizens, and the
three lots next north of Princess between Third and Fourth
Streets were secured, and subsequently, by way of confirming
the title, were purchased from the University “as escheated
property of Michael Higgins, one of the original settlers of the
town of Wilmington.”1

Before the completion of the academy building a theatrical
corps had been organized in Wilmington, and an arrangement
had been made between them and the trustees of the academy
for the lower part of the building to be fitted up and used ex-
clusively as a theatre ; and a perpetual lease was made, con-
formably, to the Thalian Association. The building was erected
about the year 1800, when the toym could boast of hardly more
than 1,500 inhabitants. Years afterwards, the academy fell
into ruin and was not used for educational purposes. The
Thalian Association, however, continued to hold possession.
Its claim was resisted by the University, and by way of com-
promise the property was sold and purchased by the town, it
being agreed that half the purchase money should be applied to
the erection of a building with suitable rooms for theatrical
performances.

iThe investigations of W. B. McKoy, Esq., show that this property was
escheated, not because it had belonged to Higgins, but to two Tories.

Interesting Memories

249

Of the members of the first Thalian Association, the name of
Col. Archibald McNeill1 alone has been preserved. He was the
star performer, and in his delineation of the character of Ham-
let very few professional actors could excel him.

After some years a second Thalian Association was organ-
ized, among the members being Edward B. Dudley, William
B. Meares, Charles J. Wright, James S. Green, William M.
Green, Julius H. Walker, William C. Lord, James Telfair,
Charles L. Adams, Dr. James F. McRee, Col. John D. Jones,
Robert Rankin, William H. Halsey, Thomas Loring, John
Cowan, and others not now remembered.

Of Governor Dudley mention is elsewhere made. Mr. Meares
was a lawyer of commanding influence, at one time coming
within one vote of being elected to the Senate of the United
States ; but, unhappily, he died suddenly, while yet in the full
maturity of his powers.

Charles J. Wright was an actor by intuition. He strode the
boards with a majesty and grace that Cooper or Cook might
have envied in their palmiest days. He was the eldest son of
Judge J. G. Wright, and a lawyer, but became president of the
Wilmington branch of the Bank of the State. His son, Lieut.
William Henry Wright, graduated at the head of his class at
West Point, Beauregard being next, and became eminent as an
officer of the Engineer Corps.

Julius Walker was an actor of extraordinary merit. He had
great fondness for the drama, and had few equals as an amateur
performer.

James S. Green, the treasurer of the Wilmington and Weldon
Railroad Company from its organization till his death, in 1862,
was unequaled as a comedian. He was an admirable type of
the Cape Eear gentleman of the olden time, with a fund of
anecdote and wit, and as a story-teller unrivaled. Passionately
fond of music, he sang the plaintive ballads of the old days with
great feeling and expression.

Col. John D. Jones excelled in the character of Hamlet.
Reared to the practice of the law, he early abandoned it for the
more genial pursuits of literature and agriculture. He was
speaker of the House of Commons, and presided with great

iAt that time there were two McNeills, kinsmen, in Wilmington;
Archibald, a grandson of Sir Charles Wright, the last royal governor of
Georgia, and related to the Hasells and others; and Dr. Daniel McNeill,
father of William Gibbs McNeill, the famous engineer, who was the
grandfather of the celebrated James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

250

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ability. Later, be was naval officer of the port and president of
tbe Bank of Cape Fear.

Dr. Janies F. McRee1 was one of tbe foremost men in bis
profession, in tbis or any other State ; a most successful practi-
tioner and a bold and brilliant operator. He bad great scholarly
attainments, was fond of tbe classics, wrote with ease and ele-
gance, was equally at home in tbe researches of philosophy and
tbe mazes of metaphysics, tbe natural sciences and tbe polite
literature of tbe day.

William M. Green, later bishop of Mississippi, remarkable
for intelligence, suavity of manner, and for a beauty somewhat
feminine, and David M. Miller, father of tbe late lamented Col.
James T. Miller, played with success tbe role of female char-
acters.

William C. Lord sustained tbe role of tbe sentimental gen-
tleman with great dignity and propriety. He was one of
nature’s noblemen.

John Cowan was admirable in genteel comedy. His tine
figure, graceful manner, and correct gesticulations appeared to
great advantage on the stage. He was the eldest son of Col.
Thomas Cowan, one of tbe old settlers of tbe town, and was one
of tbe handsomest men of tbe day. He became cashier of tbe
Bank of tbe State.

William H. Halsey frequently appeared on tbe stage and
was as natural as life. He was prominent in bis profession, and
left tbe reputation of a lawyer of great learning.

Charles L. Adams played well bis part among tbe choice
spirits of those days and added much to tbe success of their
representations by bis versatility of talent, knowledge of scenic
effects, and unfailing good humor.

Thomas Loring was an excellent performer in tbe higher
walks of tragedy. He bad a face of marked expression, a voice
deep-chested and sonorous, and in bis rendition of tbe characters
of Shylock and of the Duke of Gloucester there was an earnest-
ness and a passion not easily forgotten. Mr. Loring was one
of tbe best known editors in tbe State.

After an existence of some years tbis organization ceased, but
not until it bad been of much service to tbe community. Hot
only bad it afforded entertainment, but it bad been still more
beneficial in tbe development of talent and in fostering an inter-
est in the drama, as well as disseminating culture generally
among tbe citizens. Hor was it long before tbe association was

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251

revived by another set of aspirants for the buskin who did not
in point of talent disgrace their predecessors.

Among them were Joseph A. Hill, Dr. Thomas H. Wright,
Robert H. Cowan, Dr. James H. Dickson, Dr. John Hill,
Lawrence D. Dorsey, John Nutt Brown, and many others.
They played with very great success.

Joseph A. Hill shone on the mimic stage, as he did upon the
actual stage of life, with unfailing lustre. A son of William
H. Hill and a grandson of John Ashe, he had no rival of his
age as a debater and orator, and no superior of any age in
North Carolina.

Dr. Thomas H. Wright played female characters with great
success. He became president of the Bank of Cape Fear.

Robert H. Cowan was a very popular member of the associa-
tion and bore a prominent part in all their representations.
After preparing for the law, he abandoned it for agriculture.

Dr. James H. Dickson was a prominent member of the asso-
ciation, appeared frequently upon the stage, and was regarded
as an excellent performer. Embracing the profession of medi-
cine, he sprang at once into a large and lucrative practice. He
possessed great power — was a student all his life, a lover of
books and a thinker, a man of scholarly attainment and fond of
scientific study. He fell at his post of duty, one of the earliest
victims of the fearful epidemic of 1862.

Dr. John Hill frequently appeared upon the boards, always
in genteel comedy and as the gentleman of the piece, which
harmonized well with his graceful figure and easy manner.
He was a remarkably handsome man. Endowed with versatile
talents, he graced equally the stage and the drawing-room.
While eminent as a physician, he achieved a particular fame for
his literary accomplishments. He became president of the
Bank of Cape Fear, and was known as Dr. John “Bank” Hill,
to distinguish him from his kinsman, Dr. James H. Hill.

Eventually this association, like its predecessor, dissolved;
but there came along a strolling company of actors who leased
the theatre for two or three seasons, and after their departure,
interest in theatricals having revived, a third organization was
formed.

The members of the new association well sustained the repu-
tation of the former players. For a long time they offered the
only source of amusement to the public, and crowded houses
always greeted their performances. On the list of members we

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

find the names of William Cameron, John S. James, L. H.
Marsteller, Bela H. Jacobs, P. W. Fanning, John MacRae,
Augustus Ramousin, Joshua James, E. H. Wingate, J. F.
Gianople, J. P. Brownlow, A. A. Brown, J. McColl, W. E.
Blaney, E. Withington, Daniel Sherwood, C. Manning, William
Lowry, W. H. Peden, Dr. W. J. Price, R. J. Dorsey, Daniel
Dickson, Roger Moore, W. A. Allen.

William Cameron was a horn actor, possessing great versa-
tility of talents, and was passionately fond of theatrical amuse-
ments. Later in life he removed farther South.

Lewis H. Marsteller, a descendant of Col. Lewis D. Mars-
teller, distinguished in the Revolution and one of the pallbearers
of General Washington, at an early age came to Wilmington
from Virginia. He played the sentimental gentleman, and was
easy and natural on the stage. He was at one time the most
popular man in the county and was never defeated before the
people. He was collector of customs and clerk of the court.

Price, Jacobs, Wingate, Brown, Moore, Withington, Ramou-
sin, Gianople, Brownlow, and Dickson were all good actors and
reflected credit on the association.

There were but few better amateur performers than John S.
J ames. His conception and delineation of the powerfully drawn
character of Pescara in The Apostate , equaled and in many
instances surpassed the best efforts of celebrated performers.
P. W. Fanning played the old man with such success that he is
still remembered by the play-going people of those days as that
“good old man” ; while Sherwood, with his fine figure and
charming voice, bore off the palm in genteel comedy.

This association after a time met the fate of its predecessors,
and the theatre remained closed until about the year 1846, when
the fourth and last association was organized. Its first presi-
dent was Col. James T. Miller; Donald MacRae was secretary
and treasurer; S. R. Ford, stage manager, and Dr. W. W. Har-
riss, prompter. On the roll of members were the names of
Thomas Sanford, William Hill, Adam Empie, E. D. Hall, J. G.
Burr, E. A. Cushing, John C. MacRae, John R. Reston, John
J. Hedrick, Talcott Burr, jr., A. O. Bradley, John Walker,
W. W. Harriss, J. T. Watts, J. G. Green, W. H. Lippitt,
John L. Meares, Donald MacRae, John Cowan, J. J. Lippitt,
George Harriss, Mauger London, W. A. Burr, R. H. Cowan,
H. W. Burgwyn, H. P. Russell, Edward Cantwell, J. B. Rus-
sell, W. B. Meares, L. H. Pierce, W. D. Cowan, G. L. Dudley,

Interesting Memories

253

R. F. Langdon, E. A. Keith, E. M. Waddell, J. S. Williams,
Robert Lindsay, Wilkes Morris, Eli W. Hall, W. M. Harriss,

S. R. Eord, J. T. Miller, Alfred Martin, Stephen J ewett, A. H.
VanBokkelen, T. C. Mcllhenny, E. J. Lord, J. A. Baker,
A. M. Waddell, C. W. Myers, E. P. Poisson, J. H. Flanner,
DuBrntz Cntlar, Edward Savage, Robert Strange, William
Reston, J. R. London, George Myers, Henry Savage, James A.
Wright, O. S. Baldwin, L. H. DeRosset, J. Hill Wright.

“Of the merits of this company/’ says Colonel Bnrr, “it may
not he proper for us to speak, as so many of its members are
still living in our midst — suffice it to say that in ability and
histrionic talent it was fully up to the standard of the preceding
associations.” After much labor and expense in repairing the
building, many delays, disappointments, and discouragements,
the opening night at length arrived. The play was The Lady
of Lyons , the afterpiece 9 Tis All a Farce , with the following
cast of characters :

The Lady of Lyons.

Claude Melnotte

Beauseant

Glavis

Colonel Damas

Gaspar

Mons. Deschappelles

Landlord

First Officer

Second Officer

Madame Deschappelles

Pauline

Widow Melnotte

’Tis All a Faece.

Numpo

Belgardo

Don Gortes

Don Testy

Carolina

....William Hill
... A. O. Bradley
Talcott Burr, jr.
. .Robert Lindsay
....John Walker

E. A. Keith

..George Harriss
. Donald MacRae
. ...G. L. Dudley
. . .W. B. Meares

J. T. Watts

J. J. Lippitt

E. D. Hall

...Adam Empie
Mauger London
.E. A. Cushing
. .J. J. Hedrick

The theatre was filled to its utmost capacity with a brilliant
and excited audience, for to add to the interest of the occasion
the names of the debutants of popular favor had been kept a
profound secret. There was not one among them who had ever
appeared in front of the footlights, and the excitement and ap-
prehension, therefore, behind the scenes, incident to a first ap-

254

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

pearance, can only be appreciated by those who have under-
gone a similar ordeal. The performance was a great success,
each actor was perfect in his part and remarkably correct in the
delineation of the character assumed. The machinery of the
stage, that most vital adjunct to the success of all theatrical
exhibitions, was admirably managed, and the applause, long
and continued at the close of the performance, testified in lan-
guage too plain to be misunderstood the hearty approval of the
delighted audience. Many representations followed with equal
success, and the association soon became a permanent institu-
tion. Allied to the entire community, as nearly all its members
were, by the ties of consanguinity or business relations, it was
felt that their characters were sufficient guaranty that nothing
would be presented that would shock the sensibility of the mod-
est or wound the piety of the devout. The association modestly
but confidently appealed to the public for generous support.
Need we say how such an appeal was responded to by a Wil-
mington audience? Their well-known liberality was bestowed
with no niggard hand, and the association flourished beyond
measure and became immensely popular.

The great ability displayed by the members of this last asso-
ciation was fully recognized and appreciated by all classes of
society, but as most of them are still living and are residents
of our city, it would be rather indelicate to particularize, and
we can therefore only refer to them in general terms of com-
mendation; but, as memory brings up the vanished past and
the virtues of the departed, we may surely pause, if but for a
moment, to lay a few mosses upon the mounds of some of those
who joined with us in sportive glee and shared alike our sorrows
and our joys.

James T. Miller, the first president of the association, was
very active and instrumental in perfecting the organization, but
never appeared upon the stage. He took great interest in its
success and was always very busy behind the scenes during every
performance. Mr. Miller became quite prominent as a party
leader, served in the House of Commons, was mayor of the town
and also chairman of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions,
and from 1854 till his death was collector of customs. Poor
Miller ! We miss thy familiar form, thy pleasant greeting, thy
hearty laugh, thy harmless idiosyncrasies; we miss thee from
the favorite spots where friends did mostly congregate to while
away the time in pleasant converse and innocent amusement,

Interesting Memories

255

and thou, the centre of attraction, making all merry with thy
playful humor. In the vigor of stalwart manhood, Miller was
struck down by the fearful pestilence of 1862, and our city
mourned the loss of a most useful, most popular, and most esti-
mable citizen.

Eli W. Hall was an admirable light comedian, a capital repre-
sentative of humorous characters and an actor of great promise
and versatility of talent. He sometimes essayed the higher
walks of tragedy, commanding the attention of the audience by
the power of his representations. He became a lawyer and com-
manded an extensive practice. He was elected to the Senate in
1860, 1862, and again in 1864, and won fame in the legislative
halls as a ready and able debater. He possessed a brilliant
imagination and vivid fancy, with a wonderful command of
language, and few men could address a popular assembly with
more eloquence and effect. He was a courteous, honorable, well-
read gentleman, of strict integrity, entirely devoid of ostentation
or egotism, and justly popular in all classes of society.

Thomas Sanford was the oldest member of the association,
and one of the best amateur performers that ever appeared in
Wilmington. He was entirely at home upon the stage ; his style
was easy, graceful, and natural, and his voice, of remarkable
power and compass, never failed him under any circumstances.
He had had much experience in theatricals, for in early youth
he was a member of a Thespian association in Philadelphia.
Edwin Forrest, the eminent tragedian, was also a member of
the same company, and at that time Sanford was regarded as
the better actor of the two. He was the star of the association,
always appeared in leading characters, and his appearance in
any character and on any occasion was always a success.

Talcott Burr, jr., not only excelled in genteel comedy hut was
most excellent in the higher branches of dramatic art. Gifted
with a strong and discriminating mind, which extensive reading
had highly improved and cultivated, he at first devoted himself
to the practice of law, but finding it unsuited to his taste,
adopted the profession of public journalist, in which so many
men have risen to eminence and usefulness.

John R. Reston — who does not remember and who did not
love J ohn Reston ? One of the most amiable, kindhearted, gen-
erous beings that ever lived; guileless as a child, a creature of
impulse and of the most unsuspecting generosity; a friend to
every one and an enemy only to himself, he was never so happy

256

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

as when engaged in some disinterested act of kindness or minis-
tering to the pleasure of others.

Nature had been lavish in her gifts to him. No one could he
in his company, for however short a time, without feeling the
influence of his rich and unctious humor, his genial bonhomie ,
his entire unselfishness, and not admire, also, the exhibition of
that virtue which so few of us possess, the desire to avoid, even
in the slightest degree, anything that might give pain to others.
He had a fine ear for music and sang with wonderful sweetness
and expression; his voice was not cultivated, but his tone was
singularly soft and perfect, like the mournful sighing of the
breeze through the lofty pines of the forest. We were boys
together, and I knew him well; “a fellow of infinite jest, of
most excellent fancy, whose flashes of merriment were wont to
set the table in a roar.” Green be the turf above and lightly
may it rest upon him, for the earth covers not a heart more
generous nor one more entirely unselfish.

Dr. Alfred O. Bradley displayed histrionic talent of a very
high order. He was inimitable as Sir Able Handy, most excel-
lent as Max Harkaway, in London Assurance , and as Beauseant,
in The Lady of Lyons , was decidedly the best representative of
that character we have ever seen on any stage. In the beautiful
play Feudal Times he appeared as Lord Angus, a fiery represent-
ative of the haughty Douglas, and played it with a vehemence
and power that astonished all who witnessed the performance.

James A. Wright was one of the most youthful members of
the association, and his career upon the stage, though very brief,
was full of promise. Lew men in our State — few men in any
State of his age — had brighter prospects of a more brilliant
future. Descended from one of the oldest and most influential
families on the Cape Lear, he inherited in large degree the vir-
tues for which they have always been so justly distinguished.
Nature had been kind to him, and education had given polish
and brilliancy to the jewels with which he was endowed and that
adorned his character. But alas ! for human hopes and human
calculations. The dark cloud of the War between the States,
whose mutterings had been heard for years, at length hurst sud-
denly upon us, and the State called upon her sons to go forth
and battle for the right. He was among the first to obey the call,
and at the head of his company marched to Virginia to meet
the hostile invaders, and at Mechanicsville, at the early age of
twenty-six, he sealed his devotion to his country with his heart’s
blood.

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257

We have not the space to speak, as we would like to do, of
the merits of Cushing, Hill, Lippitt, Cowan, Pierce, Waddell,
and Stephen Jewett. They played well their parts in the
world’s great drama, and “after life’s fitful fever, they sleep
well” in the vast and silent city of the dead.

This association continued to occupy and use the theatre
building until the old building was sold, as already mentioned.
The authorities of the town had determined upon the erection
of a city hall on the site of the Old Academy, and purchased the
property for that purpose. The association received one-half
of the purchase money. Thalian Hall was the result. Mr.
Donald MacRae was at that time president of the association,
and to his energy, perseverance, and acknowledged business
ability are we indebted for the beautiful theatre which reflects
so much credit upon our city. The new building was leased by
Mr. Marchant, a well-known theatrical manager, and opened to
the public in October, 1859. The members of the association
had now grown older and were more averse to appearing upon
the stage, and the organization found itself hampered with a
heavy debt. Under all these circumstances, a proposition was
made to the authorities of the town that if they would assume
the responsibilities of the association, all the right, title, and
interest in that part of the building used for theatrical purposes
would be surrendered. This was acceded to — the transfers
made in proper form — and the Wilmington Thalian Association
as a theatrical organization ceased to exist.

However, it is worthy of note that before its dissolution, the
Wilmington Thalian Association contributed a stone, inscribed
with its name, to he placed in the monument to George Wash-
ington in Washington City, and that stone, now imbedded in the
monument to the Father of his Country, perpetuates its memory.

258

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

A FRAGMENTARY MEMORY OF JOHNSON HOOPER.

By James G. Burr.

The impressions made upon the mind in childhood and youth
are always the most vivid and enduring, and though in the
daily pursuits of life, in the arduous struggle for success and
the jarring conflicts of adverse elements, those impressions may
for a time be obscured or forgotten, yet they are never lost. As
age creeps upon us and we live in recollection more than we do
in hope, that longing for the past of our boyhood cleaves to us
all. Our thoughts fly backward to the scenes and associations
of our youth and fasten themselves upon them with a longing
that nothing else can satisfy. The present and the future are
alike unheeded, for our yearning hearts centre only upon the
days that have faded into distance. At such moments, inci-
dents the most trivial will excite emotions to which we have long
been strangers — a withered leaf, a strip of faded ribbon that
hound the ringlets of a lost and loved one, a line traced by a
hand long moulded into dust, a little word in kindness spoken,
a motion or a tear, will evoke recollections that genius can not
trace or inspiration fathom.

This train of thought has been excited by finding in a pack-
age of old papers that had long lain hid, some lines written
many, many years ago by one who has long since passed to his
rest, Johnson Hooper, a Wilmington hoy. He was the son of
Archibald Maclaine Hooper, one of the most accomplished
scholars of his day, who edited for a number of years the Cape
Fear Recorder , the only newspaper published in Wilmington
for a long period. He was a near relative of William Hooper,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The
family removed to Montgomery, Ala., where Johnson became
connected with the Montgomery Mail , a newspaper of extensive
circulation and great influence. He found time, however, from
his arduous duties to indulge his humorous fancies, and while
connected with that paper, gave the world several humorous
works of great merit, viz. : Taking the Census, Captain Simon
Suggs, and others which gave him rank among the best humor-
ous writers of the day. He died in Richmond, Va., shortly
after the transfer of the Confederate Government to that city.

Nearly, if not quite eighty years ago, an Englishman, Mr.
Anthony Milan, was British consul at the port of Wilmington.

Interesting Memories

259

He was an educated gentleman, but possessed certain peculiari-
ties to an unusual and disagreeable extent, was dogmatic and
overbearing in disposition, and exhibited continuously a
haughty, aristocratic bearing, which he took no pains to conceal.
His “personal pulchritude’7 was immense, but he was always
scrupulously neat in his attire, wearing fine broadcloth and
ruffled shirts of spotless whiteness. A gold-framed eyeglass
dangled from a ribbon around his neck and was conspicuously
displayed upon his breast, while a number of massive gold seals
hung pendant from his watch fob. He was altogether English,
haughty and presumptuous, with a growl at everything and at
almost everybody, and could not tolerate democracy in any form.
He was an exaggerated type of class intolerance in the official
life of the town, and his pompous air and personal decorations
were the delightful derision of the small boy.

Upon one occasion, at the corner of Market and Eront Streets,
Mr. Milan was discussing with an important functionary a
question of public affairs in the presence of the newly elected
constable — the only policeman — who incautiously interjected
the remark that in his opinion, etc. Mr. Milan stared at him
with unmitigated contempt — “And pray, sir,” said he, “what
right have you to an opinion?” ( Temporn mutantur, et nos
mutamur in illis.)

About that time a ship had been built at the southern ex-
tremity of the town, and the day appointed for the launching
had arrived. As the building of a ship in those days was quite
an event in the history of the town, almost the entire population
turned out to witness the launching, and an immense crowd
gathered on the wharves and the surrounding hills. Of course,
the British consul was there in full dress. The tide unfortu-
nately was too low at the time for the ship to float when she left
the ways; she grounded, and just then Mr. Milan, by some acci-
dent, fell overboard, but was quickly hooked up out of the river
all dripping wet, with his bald head glistening in the sun like
burnished gold. He was not at all injured by his involuntary
ducking, but excessively chagrined. Of course, the boys were
delighted, for he was exceedingly unpopular with them, and the
next day Johnson Hooper, one of the youngsters, produced the
following lines, which exhibit, even at that early age, his playful
fancies :

260

Chronicles of the Cape Fear Elver

ANTHONY MILAN’S LAUNCH.

Ye who pretend to disbelieve
In fixed degrees of fate,

Give, I beseech you, listening ear
To what I now relate.

It is about the launching of
A stately ship I tell,

And of a fearful accident
That then and there befell

To one well known to all in town,

A man of portly size,

Who carries watch seals in his fob
And glasses in his eyes.

He holds a high position from
His Majesty Britannic,

And claims to be a member
Of the breed aristocratic.

He looks with sovereign contempt
On those whose daily toil
Brings out in rich abundance
The products of the soil.

He does not care a pin for him
Who weareth not fine clothes,

And he uses linen cambric
With which to wipe his nose.

He has no need for comb or brush,

For his cheeks are rosy red,

And a microscopic lens can find
No hair upon his head.

His boots are always polished bright,
His beaver sleek as silk,

His ruffled shirt is clean and white
As a bowl of new-skimmed milk.

But to our fate — the morning sun
Shone bright upon that day,

When all our people through the streets
Most gaily took their way

Down to the docks, where on the stocks
The gallant ship was seen,

Decked out in brilliant colors
Of blue and red and green.

A monstrous crowd was gathered there,
In feverish excitement,

To see the ship glide off the ways
Into the watery element.

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261

The British consul with his glass
Stuck in his nether eye,

Was there in force, for could the ship
Be launched, and he not by?

She starts, she’s off, a shout went up
In one tumultuous roar,

That rolled o’er Eagles’ Island and
Was heard on Brunswick shore.

Pull royally the ship slid down
Towards the foaming tide,

While cheer on cheer from every lip
Went up on every side.

She passed along towards the stream,
Majestically grand —

When suddenly she stopped. Alas!

She grounded in the sand.

And there she would have always stuck
And never more have stirred,

Had not the scene I now relate
Most happily occurred.

Just at that moment when she stopped,
With many a shake and shiver,

The pompous British consul slipped
And tumbled in the river.

The Cape Fear rose three feet or more
As Anthony went under,

The waves they beat upon the shore
In peals of living thunder.

The ship was lifted from the sand,

And like the lightning’s gleam,

She glided out into the deep,

And floated in the stream.

“All honor then to Anthony!”

Was heard on every side.

And should we build another ship
And scant should be the tide,

May he be there, and gently drop
His carcass in the sea;

That ship will float, it matters not
How low the tide may be.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

JOSEPH JEFFERSON.

(From the Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson.)

After mentioning that he had engaged a comedian, Sir Wil-
liam Don, an English nobleman six feet six inches tall, Jeffer-
son wrote :

“Sir William went with us to Wilmington, North Carolina,
where we opened with the stock, he appearing at the beginning
of the second week. The audience here did not like his acting ;
they seemed to prefer our domestic goods to the imported article.
He saw this, hut did not seem to mind it, and so bowed to the
situation. He became very much attached to the company and
remained with us some time, joining in our fishing and boating
parties. His animal spirits were contagious ; and as we had no
rehearsals, the mornings at least were devoted to amusement.
We would do the most boyish and ridiculous things. Three or
four of us, himself the central figure, would go through extrava-
gant imitations of the circus and acrobatic feats that were then
in vogue. The Bounding Brothers of the Pyrenees was a par-
ticular favorite with him. We would pretend to execute the
most dangerous feats of strength — lifting imaginary weights,
climbing on one another’s shoulders, and then falling down in
grotesque and awkward attitudes, and suddenly straightening
up and bowing with mock dignity to an imaginary audience.
Once he did an act called The Sprite of the Silver Shower , pre-
tending to he a little girl, and tripping into the circus ring with
a mincing step. Then, with a shy look, he would put his finger
in his mouth, and mounting a table would go through a dar-
ing bareback feat. Nothing that I ever saw was more extrav-
agant. * * *

“The next fall, 1852, we resolved to make another trial of
our fortunes in the Southern circuit. Our limited means com-
pelled us to adopt the most economical mode of transportation
for the company. It was settled, therefore, that we, the mana-
gers, should arrive at least a week in advance of the opening
season ; our passage must he by rail, while the company were to
proceed by sea. There was in those days a line of schooners
that plied between Wilmington, N. C., and New York. The
articles of transportation from the South consisted mainly of
yellow pine tar and resin, which cargo was denominated ‘naval
stores.’ Feeling confident that we could procure passage for our

Interesting Memories

263

company by contracting with one of these vessels to take them
to Wilmington, we determined to conclude a bargain with the
owners. The day was fixed for their departure, and Mr. Ellsler
and I went down to the wharf at Peck Slip to see them off. It
was an ill-shaped hulk, with two great, badly repaired sails
flapping against her clumsy and foreboding masts. The deck
and sides were besmeared with the sticky remnants of her last
importation, so that when our leading actor, who had been seated
on the taffrail, arose to greet his managers, he was unavoidably
detained. There was handsome John Crocher, our juvenile
actor, leaning with folded arms and a rueful face against an
adhesive mast ; Mrs. Pay, the first old woman, with an umbrella
in one hand and a late dramatic paper in the other, sitting on a
coil of rope, and unconsciously ruining her best black dress,
etc., etc. It was a doleful picture. Our second comedian, who
was the reverse of being droll on the stage, but who now and
then ventured on a grim joke off it with better success, told me
in confidence that they all had been lamenting their ill-tarred
fate. As we watched the wretched old craft being towed away
to sea, we concluded that we should never forgive ourselves if
our comrades were never heard of again. On our arrival in
Wilmington the days were spent in preparing the dusty old
rat-trap of a theatre for the opening, and our nights in wonder-
ing if our party were safe. The uneasiness was not lessened,
either, by the news that there had been bad weather off Hatteras.
Within a week, however, they arrived, looking jaded and miser-
able. Another week for rest and rehearsal, and our labors began.

“Comedy and tragedy were dished up, and I may say, hashed
up, alternately, as, for instance, Monday, Colman’s comedy of
The Poor Gentleman, fancy dances by the soubrette, comic
songs by the second comedian, concluding with the farce of The
Spectre Bridegroom. The next evening we gave Romeo and
Juliet. I felt that the balcony scene should have some atten-
tion, and I conceived a simple and economical idea that would
enable me to produce the effect in a manner ‘hitherto unparal-
leled in the annals of the stage.’ Skirmishing about the wharves
and the ship-chandlers, I chanced to light upon a job lot of
empty candle boxes. By taking a quantity the cardboards were
thrown in, and nothing makes a finer or more imposing but un-
substantial balustrade than cardboard. The boxes, placed one
by one on top of each other and painted a neat stone color, form
a pleasing architectural pile. The scene opened with a backing

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of something supposed to represent the distant city of Verona,
with my new balcony in the foreground. All seemed to be go-
ing well till presently there came the sound of half-suppressed
laughter from the audience. The laughter increased, till at last
the whole house had discovered the mishap. Juliet retreated
in amazement and Romeo rushed off in despair, and down came
the curtain. I rushed upon the stage to find out what had oc-
curred, when to my horror I discovered that one of the boxes
had been placed with the unpainted side out, on which was em-
blazoned a semicircular trade-mark, setting forth that the very
cornerstone of Juliet’s balcony contained twenty pounds of the
best ‘short sixes.’ ”

IMMORTALITY.

By Joseph Jefferson.

(Written by Mr. Jefferson for his friend Mr. H. M. Flagler, and given by Mr. Flagler
to his friend Mr. James Sprunt.)

Two caterpillars crawling on a leaf
By some strange accident in contact came;

Their conversation, passing all belief,

Was the same argument, the very same,

That has been “proed and conned” from man to man,

Yea, ever since this wondrous world began.

The ugly creatures

Sluggish, dull, and blind,

Devoid of features
That adorn mankind.

Were vain enough, in dull and wordy strife,

To speculate upon a future life.

The first was optimistic, full of hope;

The second, quite dyspeptic, seemed to mope.

Said number one, “I’m sure of our salvation.”

Said number two, “I’m sure of our damnation;

Our ugly forms alone would seal our fate
And bar our entrance through the golden gate.

Suppose that death should take us unawares,

How could we climb the golden stairs?

If maidens shun us as they pass us by,

Would angels bid us welcome in the sky?

I wonder what great crimes we have committed
That leave us so forlorn and so unpitied;

Perhaps we’ve been ungrateful, unforgiving:

’Tis plain to me that life’s not worth the living.”

“Come, come, cheer up,” the jovial worm replied,

“Let’s take a look upon the other side;

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265

Suppose we can not fly like moths or millers,

Are we to blame for being caterpillars?

Will that same God that doomed us crawl the earth,
A prey to every bird that’s given birth,

Forgive our captor as he eats and sings,

And damn poor us because we have not wings?

If we can’t skim the air like owl or bat,

A worm will turn ‘for a’ that.’ ”

They argued through the summer; autumn nigh,

The ugly things composed themselves to die;

And so to make their funeral quite complete,

Each wrapped him in his little winding-sheet.

The tangled web encompassed them full soon;

Each for his coffin made him a cocoon.

All through the winter’s chilling blast they lay,

Dead to the world, aye, dead as human clay.

Lo, Spring comes forth with all her warmth and love;
She brings sweet justice from the realms above;

She breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead;
Two butterflies ascend, encircling her head.

And so this emblem shall forever be
Unfailing sign of immortality.

THE JENNY LIND INCIDENT.

By Walker Meares.

In 1850, when the great showman, P. T. Barnum, announced
that he had arranged with Jenny Lind for an American tour,
the country went wild with excitement, and when she arrived
in New York on a Sunday afternoon in September of that year,
the metropolis turned out en masse to greet her, while the Stars
and Stripes and the Swedish ensign floated above the scene in
commingled glory. The New York Herald of the following day
devoted six columns to the event — a mere prelude to the volumes
to be written later, as the triumphal passage of the great singer
swept southward to Cuba. Had the racy Punch not said : “To
call Jenny Lind the Swedish Nightingale is a compliment to the
bird, which will put an additional feather in his cap — or rather
in his tail — for the remainder of his existence” ? And had not
the whole world heard of the sweetness of the spirit that found
expression in that marvelous voice? Jenny Lind’s coming was
more than a visit — it was a most blessed visitation.

If any evidence of appreciation was lacking the box-office
failed to record it. Not only in numbers hut in prices was the
highest satisfaction realized. At the auction of seats at Castle

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Garden, it will be remembered, the batter Genin made himself
famous, and later, rich, by paying $225 for the choice of seats,
described as aa very handsome spring cushion, crimson velvet
chair, placed right against the front of the centre post, and just
opposite to Jenny Lind,” in order that he might ever after he
thus visualized to the purchaser of hats. And the singer Ossian
E. Dodge outdistanced Genin by paying $625 for a similar
choice in Boston. But so far was Jenny Lind from mercenary
intent, that during the first eight weeks of her American tour
she gave more than $18,000 to charities — a magnificent scale of
benevolence kept up during her two years’ tour in this country.

December found her in Richmond, and her next engagement
was in Charleston, S. 0., for the 26th and 29th of that month.
Wilmington was in feverish excitement, especially as the diva
must pass through this town. Should her neighbors, Richmond
and Charleston, so far o’ertop her ? Not without supreme effort
on her part. Accordingly, at a meeting of prominent ladies and
gentlemen, a committee was appointed, and when the train from
Richmond arrived at Wilmington this committee appeared at
the depot with smiling countenances and a cart-load of flowers.
The elegant and genial spokesman, Mr. James S. Green, pre-
sented a bouquet in a gracious speech of welcome, and the charm-
ing Jenny smiled her appreciation. The journey from the Vir-
ginia city to Wilmington is described as the most uncomfortable
she had made thus far in America, the Wilmington and Weldon
Railroad having the reputation of being the worst in the United
States. A traveling companion of the famous singer, however,
described it as being newly laid, and, save for a short distance
over which the old timbers of the road were plainly felt, remark-
ably easy. The car the party occupied as far as Weldon he
described as new, approximating somewhat the style in vogue
on other roads, but from Weldon to Wilmington they are said
to have been stowed away in a sort of caravanserai, described at
one time as “a huge and comfortless box with shelves for bed-
steads, something like the cabin of a Dutch sloop,” and at an-
other as “a gigantic clothes press.” With these and other dis-
comforts graphically named by her biographer freshly in mind,
it is likely that Jenny Lind valued all the more the compensa-
tion of a gracious reception at the end of her journey and that
she listened with gratifying interest to the momentous question
of the committee. Would she sing for Wilmington ? She would
gladly if Mr. Barnum could arrange it, and Mr. Barnum pleas-

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267

ingly acquiesced. “But, gentlemen/’ said he, “what is the capac-
ity of your opera house ?” “About one hundred and fifty seats,
but by utilizing the aisles two hundred can he provided/’ they
told him, to which the showman laughingly replied, “Gen-
tlemen, my orchestra would fill a large part of that space!”
They withdrew to consider possible adjustments and shortly
returned with complaisancy, saying it was all arranged, they
would erect a platform in the centre of the street immediately
in front of the theatre, so that everybody might hear ! The idea
was diverting and the fair Swede laughed uncontrollably at
being asked to sing to an open-air audience in the public streets,
hut her warm heart quickened its heats at the thought of the
simplicity that conceived the plan. Her contract with Mr.
Barnum stipulated that she he allowed to hold concerts for
charity when she saw fit. If they had only told her that Wil-
mington had its orphans, its poor, and its sick, no doubt the
open-air performance would have received serious consideration.

They did not hear her sing, but they heard that marvelous
voice in speech and they saw her. And she — she saw them, a
people whose hospitality, simplicity, and inherent kindliness
have never been surpassed. She declined an invitation by Queen
Victoria to sing at a festival at court to come to America,
largely, as she said, to see the American people, and we fancy
that in the potpourri of precious impressions she carried away
went a bit of fragrance from Wilmington. Perhaps, too, she
regretted not accepting the open-air suggestion and waiting over
a day, for on the night she sailed south on the steamer Gladiator
from the Cape Pear city, there occurred one of the worst storms
ever known along these shores. Three ships were lost on the
Carolina coast about that time, and it was rumored that the
Gladiator had grounded on Cape Bomain. She was thirty-four
hours making the trip to Charleston, which then took hut seven-
teen under ordinary weather conditions. She was reported lost,
and the news was telegraphed to Hew York, hut corrected a
dozen hours later; for, notwithstanding wind and weather, the
exceptional seamanship of Capt. J. B. Smith took her at last
into port at Charleston. Her tiller ropes were broken and she
was sweeping in on shore. Another half hour, it is said, would
probably have effected her complete destruction with all on
hoard, hut Captain Smith steered her safely in and deposited
Jenny Lind and two hundred other passengers on shore, where
they were in a position to feel that seasickness is, after all, a
little better than drowning.

The War Between the States

ON THE EVE OF SECESSION.

In a memorial of Mr. George Davis, the beloved leader of the
Lower Cape Lear, the writer, whose affectionate admiration has
continued with increasing veneration, said for his committee,
on the occasion of a large assembly of representative citizens to
honor Mr. Davis’ memory by suitable resolutions of respect :
“In 1861 the shadow of a great national calamity appeared —
the whole country was convulsed with conflicting emotions. The
political leaders of North Carolina were divided upon the issue.
Mr. Davis loved the Union, and steadfastly counseled modera-
tion. His appointment by the Legislature as a member of the
Peace Commission, to which further reference is made, created
a feeling of absolute confidence in the minds of the conservative
citizens.

“The desire of the people of North Carolina was to see peace
maintained, whether the Union was preserved or not, and for
this purpose the Legislature on January 26, 1861, appointed
commissioners to conventions to be held at Montgomery, Ala-
bama, and Washington City. These commissioners were Hon.
Thomas Ruffin, Hon. D. M. Barringer, Hon. David S. Reid,
Hon. John M. Morehead, Hon. D. L. Swain, J. R. Bridgers,
M. W. Ransom, and George Davis. Mr. Davis went to Washing-
ton City as a member of the Peace Congress, which assembled
on Lebruary 4, 1861. The moral weight of the position and the
character of the gentlemen then and there assembled gave to the
significance of the occasion portentous aspects. The Congress
sat with closed doors ; ex-President Tyler was elected president,
and on taking the chair made one of the most eloquent and
patriotic speeches ever heard. This conference was in session
until Lebruary 27, 1861, when Mr. Davis telegraphed: ‘The

convention has just adjourned sine die , after passing seven
articles of the report of the committee, much weakened. The
territorial articles passed by a majority of one vote. North
Carolina and Virginia voted against every article but one.’

“It is difficult for those of us who remember only the intense
unanimity of the Southern people after the war was fairly in-
augurated to realize how in those previous troublous days the
[268]

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269

minds of men were perplexed by doubts. IJp to this time the
Union sentiment in North Carolina had been in the ascendant.
The people waited upon the result of the Peace Congress, and in
this section especially was the decision of many reserved until
Mr. Davis should declare his final convictions. His announce-
ment of them marked an epoch in his life, and in the lives of
countless others, for weal or woe.”

Immediately upon his return home, the following correspond-
ence took place :

Wilmington, 2d March, 1861.

Dear Sir: — Your friends and fellow-citizens are exceedingly anxious
to hear from you with reference to the proceedings of the Peace Con-
gress, and to have your opinion as to their probable effect in settling
the distracting questions of the day.

Will you be kind enough to give them a public address at such time
as may suit your convenience?

Respectfully yours,

James H. Dickson.

Robert H. Cowan.

D. A. Lamont.

Thomas Miller.

Donald MacRae.

Robert G. Rankin.

James H. Chadbourn.

A. H. VanBokkelen.

To George Davis, Esq. O. G. Parsley.

Wilmington, 2d March, 1861.

Gentlemen: — Being under the necessity of leaving home tomorrow, I
will comply with the request of my fellow-citizens, as intimated in
your note, by addressing them at such hour and place this evening as
you may appoint. Respectfully yours,

Geo. Davis.

To Dr. James H. Dickson, and others.

The newspaper reports of the public meeting and of Mr.
Davis’ powerful speech which followed do not convey to our
minds the overwhelming sensations of those who listened to this
masterpiece of oratory. Mr. Davis was obliged to close before
he had finished his address. The people were profoundly moved,
and the hearts of all were deeply stirred. Many left the hall
while he was speaking, for they could not restrain their emotion.

The Daily Journal of March 4, 1861, said: “In accordance
with the general desire, George Davis, Esq., addressed his fel-
low-citizens on last Saturday, March 2, at the Thalian Hall in
reference to the proceedings of the late Peace Congress, of which

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he was a member, giving his opinion as to the probable effect of
such proceedings in settling the distracting questions of the day.
Although the notice was very brief, having only appeared at
midday in the town papers, the hall was densely crowded by an
eager and attentive audience, among whom were many ladies.”

The report of the speech is full, and deals with all the vital
questions which were discussed at the Peace Congress. Mr.
Davis said that he shrunk from no criticism upon his course,
hut, indeed, invited and sought for it the most rigid examina-
tion. He had endeavored to discharge the duties of the trust
imposed in him faithfully, manfully, and conscientiously, and
whatever might be thought of his policy, he felt that he had a
right to demand the highest respect for the motives which actu-
ated him in pursuing that policy.

Referring to his own previous position, what he believed to
be the position of the State, the course of the Legislature in
appointing commissioners, and the objections to the action of
the Peace Congress, Mr. Davis said he had gone to the Peace
Congress to exhaust every honorable means to obtain a fair, an
honorable, and a final settlement of existing difficulties. He
had done so to the best of his ability, and had been unsuccessful,
for he could never accept the plan adopted by the Peace Con-
gress as consistent with the rights, the interests, or the dignity
of North Carolina.

Mr. Davis concluded by emphatically declaring that the
South could never — never obtain any better or more satisfactory
terms while she remained in the Union, and for his part he
could never assent to the terms contained in this report of the
Peace Congress as in accordance with the honor or the interests
of the South.

When Mr. Davis had concluded Hon. S. J. Person moved that
the thanks of the meeting be tendered to him for the able,
manly, and patriotic manner in which he had discharged the
duties of his position as a commissioner from North Carolina.
The motion was enthusiastically carried.

On June 18, 1861, Mr. Davis and Mr. W. W. Avery were
elected by the State Convention delegates for the State at large
to the Confederate Congress, and they took their seats in the
Senate. In alluding to his election the Journal , the organ of
the Democratic party in this section, said :

“Mr. Davis, in old party times, was an ardent and consistent
member of the opposition, and was opposed to a severance from

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271

the North until he felt satisfied by the result of the Peace Con-
ference that all peaceful means had been exhausted.” At the
following session of the Legislature he and W. T. Dortch were
elected Confederate States Senators, and later he became a
member of the Cabinet.

Through the courtesy of Mrs. Parsley, whose husband, Col.
William M. Parsley, of Wilmington, gave his brilliant young
life to the cause of the Confederacy, I include as worthy of all
honor the following narrative, to which her well-known devotion
as one of the leaders of the Ladies’ Memorial Society and as
president of the Daughters of the Confederacy gives added au-
thority and interest :

“In 1861, when, amid great popular excitement and enthusi-
asm, South Carolina seceded from the Union of States, the peo-
ple of Wilmington were deeply stirred by conflicting emotions.
Meetings were held at various local points, and speakers for and
against secession swayed the multitudes which attended them.
At a town meeting, an address by Dr. James H. Dickson, urging
moderation and advising against hasty action as to secession,
was regarded with close attention and respect, for Dr. Dickson
was a man universally trusted and beloved, and one of the fore-
most to act in any movement for the welfare of Wilmington.

“His speech was followed by one from Mr. O. P. Meares,
afterwards a colonel in the Confederate Army, and later a judge.
He was an ardent secessionist and a fiery speaker, and the
younger element was carried away by his eloquence, but the
older citizens, devoted to the Union, were loath to break the
bonds, and the community seemed equally divided until Mr.
George Davis returned from the Peace Conference in Washing-
ton City, with his full account of the utter failure to arrive at
an agreement, and gave as his judgment that the Union could
only be preserved with dishonor to the South. The immense
crowd gathered in /the opera house received his words in pro-
found silence, as though the speaker’s judgment settled that of
each one who heard him.

The Response to Lincoln’s Call foe Teoops.

“Later, when Lincoln’s call was made for 75,000 men ‘to put
down the rebellion,’ the whole of the Cape Fear section was
fired, and with scarcely an exception looked upon secession and
war as the inevitable outcome.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“The young men wore secession rosettes and badges made of
small pine burs. The military companies already organized
greatly increased their ranks, and drilled vigorously. Other
companies were organized and men of Northern birth who did
not join some military organization were regarded with sus-
picion. Many of this class slipped away to the north of Mason
and Dixon’s line during the next few months.

“Men too old for service in the field formed a cavalry com-
pany under Capt. William C. Howard, for home defense, and
one company of quite elderly gentlemen was known popularly as
the ‘Horse-and-Buggy Company,’ and though they did not drill,
they held themselves in readiness to do what they could when
called upon. They did assist in the equipment of companies sent
to the field, and many of them aided and supported, during the
whole of the war, families of men in the service.

“School boys drilled constantly in the streets with wooden
guns and tin swords, and those owning a real gun or a good
imitation were sure of being officers, no matter about their other
qualifications, though to do them justice they did strive like men.

“When a rumor came that the Harriet Lane , a small Revenue
Cutter, had been sent to reinforce Fort Caswell, which was
under command of Sergeant Reilly, the excitement was over-
whelming. The Harriet Lane did not come, hut when Fort
Sumter was bombarded on the 12th and 18th of April, several
companies of volunteers were ordered to the fort. Sergeant
Reilly, the lonely custodian of the fort, calling all present to
witness that he was compelled by superior force, surrendered it
in due form and with military honors. He afterwards served
with signal courage and devotion in the Confederate service
with the rank of major of artillery.”

Wilmington Companies.

As soon as the Eighth Regiment of Volunteers was organized,
it was ordered to encamp at Confederate Point, near New Inlet,
the name having been changed from Federal Point. A few
months later they were ordered to Coosawhatchie, South Caro-
lina, and moved to several other points to meet expected attacks,
and later they were ordered to Virginia. After the ten regi-
ments of State Troops were organized, the Eighth Regiment of
Volunteers became the Eighteenth North Carolina State Troops.

Company G of this regiment was organized in Wilmington in

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273

1853 as the Wilmington Light Infantry. They went into the
war nearly two hundred strong, under Capt. William L. DeRos-
set, who was soon promoted. His successor was Capt. Henry
Savage. Their records show that fifty-seven commissioned offi-
cers of the Confederate States were former members of this
company. The regiment reached the seat of war in Virginia
just in time for the Battle of Mechanicsville, late in June, 1862.

From first to last there were sent from the immediate vicinity
of Wilmington twenty companies of infantry, two of cavalry,
and six battalions of artillery, numbering in all nearly 4,000
men, divided as follows :

No. of men.

Co. C, 1st Infantry, Captain J. S. Hines 196

Co. E, 1st Infantry, Captain James A. Wright 147

Co. D, 3d Infantry, Captain Edward Savage 164

Co. F, 3d Infantry, Captain William M. Parsley 159

Co. K, 3d Infantry, Captain David Williams 174

Co. C, 7th Infantry, Captain Robert B. McRae 159

Co. A, 18th Infantry, Captain Christian Cornehlson 211

Co. E, 18th Infantry, Captain John R. Hawes 169

Co. G, 18th Infantry, Captain Henry R. Savage 194

Co. I, 18th Infantry, Captain O. P. Meares 186

Co. D, 36th Infantry, Captain Edward B. Dudley 131

Co. G, 61st Infantry, Captain J. F. Moore 106

Co. A, 51st Infantry, Captain John L. Cantwell 132

Co. C, 51st Infantry, Captain James Robinson 87

Co. E, 51st Infantry, Captain Willis H. Pope 89

Co. G, 51st Infantry, Captain James W. Lippitt 93

Co. H, 51st Infantry, Captain S. W. Maultsby 75

Co. K, 66th Infantry, Captain William C. Freeman 140

Co. A, 41st Regt. Cavalry, Captain A. T. Newkirk 94

Co. C, 59th Regt. Cavalry, Captain R. M. Mclntire 89

Co. A, 1st Batt. Artillery, Captain Robert G. Rankin 147

Co. B, 1st Batt. Artillery, Captain Charles D. Ellis . 208

Co. C, 1st Batt. Artillery, Captain Alexander MacRae 177

Co. D, 1st Batt. Artillery, Captain James L. McCormack . . 127

Co. C, 5th Batt. Artillery, Captain James D. Cumming. . . . 142

Co. D, 5th Batt. Artillery, Captain Z. T. Adams 205

Co. D, 72d Junior Reserves, Captain J. D. Kerr 91

Co. H, 73d Junior Reserves, First Lieutenant D. J. Byrd 91

Enlisted for the Navy 250

The officers and many of the men of the Third Regiment of
Infantry were from Hew Hanover County, and that regiment
(like the 18th) has always seemed to belong peculiarly to Wil-
mington. Its history, compiled by two of its surviving officers,
Captains Metts and Cowan, and embodied in Clark’s Regimental
18

274

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Histories, shows that its whole career was Special service/7 and
the instances of signal bravery, daring, and endurance related
were so constant that they were looked upon as all in the day’s
work, and no special notice was taken of them.

This regiment, which went to Virginia in 1861 with 1,500
men, took part in every battle, in the thickest of the fray, from
Mechanicsville to Appomattox. Very much reduced by forced
marches and hard lighting, with no chance for recruiting, only
300 men went into the Battle of Gettysburg, and when the
regiment was mustered after the battle, 77 muskets were all
that responded in the ranks and “they lost no prisoners, and
had no stragglers.”

The compilers of the history of the Third Regiment say mod-
estly that they “were not in a position, nor of sufficiently high
grade, to write anything beyond the range of their own vision,
hut that the history of one regiment of North Carolina troops is
the history of another, save in the details which marked their
achievements.”

An incident told in Captain Denson’s Memorial Address on
General Whiting, delivered in Raleigh on Memorial Day, 1895,
is interesting. It was written to Captain Denson by Sergeant
Glennan :

“During the bombardment of Fort Fisher, there was at head-
quarters a detail of couriers, consisting of youths fifteen to
eighteen years of age — the bravest boys I have ever seen; their
courage was magnificent. They were on the go all the time,
carrying orders and messages to every part of the fort. Among
them was a boy named Murphy, a delicate stripling. He was
from Duplin County, the son of Mr. Patrick Murphy. He had
been called upon a number of times to carry orders, and had
just returned from one of his trips to Battery Buchanan. The
bombardment had been terrific, and he seemed exhausted and
agitated. After reporting, he said to me with tears in his eyes,
T have no fear physically, but my morale is lacking.’ And
then he was called to carry another order. He slightly wavered
and General Whiting saw his emotion. Dome on, my boy,’ he
said, ‘don’t fear, I will go with you,’ and he went off with the
courier and accompanied him to and from the point where he
had to deliver the order. It was to one of the most dangerous
positions and over almost unprotected ground.

“The boy and the general returned safely. There was no
agitation after that, and that evening he shouldered his gun

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275

when every man was ordered on duty to protect the fort from a
charge of General Terry’s men. The boy met death soon after
and rests in an unmarked grave, but his memory will ever he
treasured.’’

THE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION.

The hand of faithful women who had worked under Mrs. A. J.
DeRosset as the Soldiers’ Aid Society organized in July, 1866,
a permanent Memorial Association, with the purpose of rescuing
from oblivion the names and graves of the gallant Confederates
who lie buried near Wilmington. Mrs. Julia A. Oakley was
made president. The first memorial observance was on July 21,
1866. Many citizens and a number of old Confederate soldiers
were present, and the ladies went from grave to grave in Oak-
dale, bringing their floral tributes to the dead. A beautiful and
touching address was delivered by Maj. Joseph A. Engelhard,
and prayer was offered by Rev. George Patterson, who had been
chaplain of the Third Regiment.

The Memorial Association afterwards obtained a charter from
the Legislature through Col. William L. Saunders in order that
they might hold the deed for a “Confederate lot,” which was
given them by the directors of the Oakdale Cemetery Company.

Five hundred and fifty bodies of Confederate soldiers, buried
at various points where they fell in the vicinity of Wilmington,
were brought and reinterred in this lot. Only a few of the
names were known.

In 1870, Memorial Day was observed for the first time on the
10th of May, the anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s death,
which was afterwards made a legal holiday.

In 1872, the beautiful memorial statue to the Confederate
heroes was unveiled. Self-denial, work, prayers, tears and
heart’s blood went into the building of that monument.

In 1899, a neat stone was placed, marking the grave of Mrs.
Greenhow, who lost her life in the service of the Confederate
States. This same year mention was made for the first time of
the fact that the bronze statue of a soldier on the monument was
cast from cannon captured during the war.

In 1875, the Memorial Association, having been greatly weak-
ened by death and the age of its members, decided to merge
into the Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization then
newly formed, in which they could still carry on their sacred

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

work “buoyed up and assisted by the fresh enthusiasm of the
younger association.’7 They were made the Memorial Com-
mittee of the Daughters of the Confederacy, and some of them
still assist in placing the fresh laurel wreaths on Memorial Day.

Besides the five hundred and fifty graves in the Confederate
lot, there are scattered about Oakdale three hundred and eighty
graves, and in Bellevue, the Roman Catholic Cemetery, and pri-
vate burial grounds about one hundred more. These are all
marked with stone markers and, as far as possible, are adorned
with a laurel wreath upon each recurring 10th of May.

A CAPTURE BEFORE THE WAR.1

By John L. Cantwell.

The fact that the State of North Carolina was slow to follow
the secession movement of her more southern sister States was
the cause of much chafing among her people in the eastern coun-
ties, and especially along the seacoast, where it was urged that
the Federal Government was likely, at any moment, to garrison
the forts commanding Cape Fear River and Beaufort Harbor.

The people of Wilmington were particularly exercised over
the possibility of such a step being taken, and it is likely that
the knowledge of this strong feeling, and the impression that it
would be regarded as an act of coercion, alone deterred the
Washington Government from sending down strong garrisons
and ample munitions of war.

Fort Caswell, commanding the main entrance to Cape Fear
River, was a bastioned, masonry fort of great strength and in
thorough order, but without mounted guns. Once occupied and
armed, it would have been impossible for the Confederates,
without command of the sea, to have retaken it, and the port
which afterwards proved of such inestimable value to them
would have been effectually sealed. The Federal fleets having
free entrance there, would have held the shores on either side
of the river for some distance up, and commanded, from a safe
interior base, the entrance through New Inlet, for the defense
of which Fort Fisher was afterwards built, and that historic and
epoch-making earthwork would probably never have been con-
structed.

iFrom Clark’s Regimental Histories.

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277

In the State at large the Union sentiment was at this time
slightly in the ascendant. In the Lower Cape Fear the seces-
sionists were probably in the majority. These regarded delays
as dangerous, and anticipated with forebodings the occupation
of the forts by the Union forces.

Early in January, 1861, alarmed by the condition of affairs
in Charleston Harbor, they determined to risk no longer delays.
A meeting of the citizens of Wilmington was held in the court-
house, at which Robert G. Rankin, Esq., who afterwards gave
his life for the cause on the battlefield of Bentonville, presided.
A Committee of Safety was formed, and a call made for volun-
teers to be enrolled for instant service under the name of “Cape
Fear Minute Men.” The organization was speedily effected,
John J. Hedrick being chosen commander.

On the 10th of January Major Hedrick and his men embarked
on a small schooner with provisions for one week, the Committee
of Safety guaranteeing continued support and supplies, each
man carrying such private weapons as he possessed. Arriving
at Smithville at 3 p. m., they took possession of the United
States barracks known as Fort Johnston, and such stores as were
there in charge of United States Ord. Sergt. James Reilly, later
captain of Reilly’s battery. The same afternoon Major Hed-
rick took twenty men of his command, reinforced by Capt.
S. D. Thurston, commander of the Smithville Guards, and
a number of his men and citizens of Smithville, but all acting
as individuals only, and proceeded to Fort Caswell, three miles
across the bay, where they demanded, and obtained, surrender
of the fort from the United States sergeant in charge.

Major Hedrick assumed command and prepared to make his
position as secure as possible. About twenty-five strong, armed
only with shotguns, but sure of ample reinforcements should
occasion arise, these brave men determined to hold Fort Caswell
at all hazards. In bitter cold weather, they stood guard on the
ramparts and patrolled the beaches, reckoning not that, unsus-
tained even by State authority, their action was treasonable
rebellion, jeopardizing their lives and property. There were
only two 24-pounder guns mounted, one on the sea face and one
on the inner face, both carriages being too decayed to withstand
their own recoil; but, such as they were, with them they deter-
mined to defy the United States Army and Navy. The smoke
of an approaching steamer being once descried below the horizon,
the alarm was signaled, and, believing it to be a man-of-war, the

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

brave men of Smithville flew to arms, and soon the bay was alive
with boats hurrying them to the aid of their comrades within
the fort. Women, as in the old days, armed sons and fathers
and urged them to the front. But the steamer proved to be a
friendly one.

IJpon receipt of unofficial information of this movement, Gov.
John W. Ellis, captain general and commander-in-chief of the
North Carolina Militia, on the 11th of January, 1861, ad-
dressed a letter to Col. J ohn L. Cantwell, commanding the Thir-
tieth Regiment North Carolina Militia, at Wilmington, in
which, after stating his belief that the men were “actuated by
patriotic motives/’ he continued :

“Yet, in view of the relations existing between the General
Government and the State of North Carolina, there is no au-
thority of law, under existing circumstances, for the occupation
of the United States forts situated in this State. I can not,
therefore, sustain the action of Captain Thurston, however
patriotic his motives may have been, and am compelled by an
imperative sense of duty to order that Fort Caswell be restored
to the possession of the authorities of the United States.

“You will proceed to Smithville on receipt of this communi-
cation and communicate orders to Captain Thurston to with-
draw his troops from Fort Caswell. You will also investigate
and report the facts to this department.”

Upon receipt of this order on the 12th, Col. J. L. Cantwell
notified the Governor that he would proceed at once to Fort
Caswell, accompanied by Robert E. Calder, acting adjutant,
and William Calder, acting quartermaster, two staff officers tem-
porarily appointed for that duty. Transportation facilities
between Wilmington and Smithville were very limited. Colonel
Cantwell and his aides embarked on a slow-sailing sloop which
became becalmed within four miles of Smithville. They were
put into shallow water, out of which they waded and walked to
Smithville, where they secured, with difficulty, because the popu-
lace was almost unanimously opposed to their supposed mission,
a pilot boat in which they sailed to Fort Caswell, arriving there
after dark.

After some parleying, and not without reluctance, they were
admitted and conducted to Major Hedrick, to whom the follow-
ing order was delivered :

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279

To Major John J. Hedrick, Commanding Fort Caswell :

Sir: — in obedience to the order of His Excellency, John W. Ellis,
governor, etc., a copy of which I herewith transmit, it becomes my
duty to direct that you withdraw the troops under your command from
Fort Caswell and restore the same to the custody of the officer of the
United States whom you found in charge.

Respectfully, John L. Cantwell,

Colonel Thirtieth North Carolina Militia.

Robert E. Calder, Acting Adjutant.

The garrison asked until the next morning to consider what
reply should he made, and, on the morning of the 13th, this was
returned :

Colonel John L. Cantwell:

Sir: — Your communication, with the copy of the order of Governor
Ellis demanding the surrender of this post, has been received. In
reply, I have to inform you that we, as North Carolinians, will obey his
command. This post will be evacuated tomorrow at 9 o’clock a. m.

John J. Hedrick,

Major Commanding .

George Wortham, Acting Adjutant.

The fort was evacuated on the next day. Colonel Cantwell
and his aides returned to Wilmington and reported the facts to
Governor Ellis. The United States sergeant again assumed
control of the government property.

Thus matters remained in this section until April of the same
year, the State in the meantime drifting steadily towards seces-
sion and war, and the people sternly arming and preparing. The
local military companies in Wilmington were fully recruited,
and the former minute men permanently organized as the Cape
Fear Light Artillery, under which name they served throughout
the war.

On the 12th of April came the firing upon Fort Sumter, fol-
lowed on the 15th by a call from the Secretary of War upon the
Governor of Forth Carolina for “two regiments of military for
immediate service.” Immediately the Governor telegraphed
orders to Col. J. L. Cantwell, at Wilmington, “to take Forts
Caswell and Johnston without delay, and hold them until fur-
ther orders against all comers.” Colonel Cantwell, as com-
mander of the Thirtieth Regiment Forth Carolina Militia,
promptly issued orders to “the officers in command of the Wil-
mington Light Infantry, the German Volunteers, and the Wil-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

mington Rifle Guards, to assemble fully armed and equipped
this afternoon” [15th], which orders were promptly obeyed.

On the morning of the 16th the Governor telegraphed Colonel
Cantwell to proceed at once to the forts, “and take possession
of the same in the name of the State of North Carolina. This
measure being one of precaution merely, you will observe strictly
a peaceful policy, and act only on the defensive.” The force
under Colonel Cantwell’s orders moved promptly. It consisted
of the Wilmington Light Infantry, Capt. W. L. DeRosset; the
German Volunteers, Capt. C. Cornehlson; the Wilmington Rifle
Guards, Capt. O. P. Meares; and the Cape Fear Light Artillery,
Lieut. James M. Stevenson, commanding. At 4 p. m., United
States Ord. Sergt. James Reilly surrendered the post at Fort
Johnston, where Lieutenant Stevenson, with his company, was
left in command. The remainder of the battalion, under Col.
J. L. Cantwell, proceeded to Fort Caswell and took possession
at 6.20 p. m., Sergeant Walker, of the United States Army,
being placed in close confinement in his* quarters “in conse-
quence of the discovery of repeated attempts to communicate
with his government.”

Officers and men worked with vigor to mount guns and pre-
pare for defense, and the work never ceased until the fall of Fort
Fisher in 1865, and the necessary abandonment of the defense
of the lower harbor. The Wilmington Light Infantry were soon
after sent to Federal Point, where, in Battery Bolles, they began
the first defensive works, which afterwards grew into Fort
Fisher and its outlying batteries.

Thus was war inaugurated in North Carolina more than a
month prior to the act of secession ; and it is a noteworthy fact
that the news of the act dissolving connection with the Union,
and the call upon her sons to arm themselves was first made
known to the pioneer troops of the Cape Fear on the parade
ground at Fort Caswell.

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281

EARLY WAR TIMES.

The day following the fall of Sumter, Maj. W. H. C. Whiting
hastened to Wilmington and by courtesy took command of the
defenses of the Cape Fear. He at once formed a staff, organized
the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments, and assigned
Capt. E. L. Childs, of the old army, to duty as chief of Artil-
lery and Ordnance, and he appointed S. A. Ashe a lieutenant,
and assigned him to duty with Captain Childs. Capt. John C.
Winder, who bore a commission from Governor Ellis as chief
engineer, reported to Major Whiting. So all of the departments
were speedily organized, and the work of preparing for defense
was begun. It was a time of unremitting work.

To command Yew Inlet, Capt. C. P. Bolles threw up the first
battery on Confederate Point. It was called Battery Bolles.
The Wilmington Light Infantry, Capt W. L. DeRosset, which
had been drilled at the cannon at Caswell, was its first garrison.
The most interesting of these early batteries was a casemate
battery constructed by Captain Winder out of railroad iron and
palmetto logs cut on Smith’s Island. It was located near the
river bank and a short distance higher up than Battery Bolles.
Captain Winder’s plan of defense for Confederate Point em-
braced a strong fortification to command the inlet ; and in order
to guard against a land attack there was a redoubt at the head
of the sound, another halfway to the point, and a covered way
was planned from the sound to the point, affording protection
from the guns of the fleet to the riflemen while they should be
engaged with any force that might attempt to land.

Major Whiting was soon promoted to the rank of general and
ordered to Virginia, and Col. S. L. Fremont had general charge
of the Cape Fear. After some months, Colonel Brown of the
Regular Army succeeded Colonel Cantwell. Captain DeRosset
was promoted and ordered to Virginia, and Maj. J. J. Hedrick
had command at Confederate Point. This officer early became
distinguished for energy and efficiency, and was especially re-
markable for his skill in erecting batteries. His work at Con-
federate Point and also at Fort Johnston excited admiration.
In October, 1861, when an attack was expected, Gen. Joseph R.
Anderson, of Richmond, an old West Pointer, was assigned to
the command of the district, and brought with him a full staff
of Virginians. Major Lamb, of Norfolk, was assigned to the

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

command of Confederate Point and fortunately proved himself
to be a most capable, efficient, and acceptable officer.

Later in the war the importance of Wilmington to the Con-
federacy became manifest, and General Whiting, doubtless the
best engineer officer in the army, and a gentleman of most re-
markable intellect and attainments, was assigned to the com-
mand of the district. General Hebert bad command of the
lower defenses. His headquarters were at Fort Johnston. It
was here that he narrowly escaped being captured. One dark
night young Lieutenant Cushing, of the Federal Havy, who
achieved great fame by blowing up the ram Albemarle , made
a raid on Hebert’s private quarters, and came near carrying off
the general to the blockading squadron. On another occasion,
Cushing passed up the river to the vicinity of Wilmington and
spent a day within sight of the town, without, however, gaining
any information.

In 1863, Col. Thomas M. Jqnes, a brother of Capt. Pembroke
Jones of the navy and associated with the Cape Fear by his
marriage with Miss London, was given command of Fort Cas-
well, hut, his health failing, in 1864 he was succeeded by Col.
C. H. Simonton.

One of the amusing incidents connected with the early days
of the war is recorded by Hr. W. G. Curtis in his Reminiscences
of Smithville-Southport :

“Much confusion prevailed at first, and the old citizens of
the town proposed the establishment of a Lome guard’ for the
protection of their home interests. Consequently, a public meet-
ing was called at the courthouse, and after much discussion
an organization was formed. Mr. John Bell was elected cap-
tain, his chief qualification being that he was good-natured
and not likely to enforce any military discipline whatever.
Much wisdom was apparent in the conversation of these ancient
gentlemen, who proposed a great number of things hitherto un-
heard of in any military organization, the principal one being
that they were liable to become fatigued by the exertion of
marching. Inquiring of the citizens if they were well and lis-
tening to their replies that ‘they were not to say well, that they
had a mighty hurting in their heads and a misery in their
hacks,’ which being duly reported to Captain Bell, he would
reply by saying that he was ‘sorry for their infirmities but that
mustang liniment was a good thing, and that a small quantity of
plantation hitters taken internally would finish the cure.’ Upon

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283

the occasion of the first meeting Captain Bell issued orders
that they should all come together for drill the next morning,
and one member of the force proposed to the captain that the
soldiers of the 'home guard7 should he required to bring camp
stools with them* so that when they were tired they could sit
down and rest. Captain Bell put them through the various
drills marching around the town, and it was observed that when
one of the company got opposite to his own home he left the
ranks and was no more seen. The Tome guard’ being thus
weakened so that they could not face any kind of an enemy,
it was moved and seconded by one of the members that the or-
ganization he now discontinued, to which motion Captain Bell
remarked that he thought so, too, and the motion being unani-
mously carried, thus ended the famous Tome guard.’ ”

CHANGES DURING THE WAR.

Wilmington, the principal seaport of North Carolina, also
became the most important in the Southern Confederacy. Prior
to the beginning of hostilities it had sustained a large traffic in
naval stores and lumber* and now it was to be for a time the
chief cotton port of America. A startling change in the aspect
of the port soon became apparent. The sailing vessels, even
to the tiny corn-crackers from Hyde County, had vanished;
likewise the two New York steamers. The long line of wharves
was occupied by a fleet of nondescript craft the like of which
had never been seen in North Carolina waters. A cotton com-
press on the western side of the river, near Market Street ferry,
was running night and day to supply these steamers with car-
goes for Nassau and Bermuda, while other newcomers were
busily discharging their anomalous cargoes of life-preserving
and death-dealing supplies for the new Confederacy.

The good old town was sadly marred by the plagues of war
and pestilence and famine. Four hundred and forty-six of the
population, reduced by flight to about three thousand, had been
carried off by the epidemic of yellow fever brought from Nas-
sau by the steamer Kate ; and hundreds more of the younger
generation, who gave up their lives in the Confederate cause,
had been brought to their final resting place in Oakdale Ceme-
tery. Suspension of the civil law, neglect of sanitary -precau-
tions, the removal of nearly all the famine stricken women and

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

children to safer places in the interior, and the coming of
speculators and adventurers to the auction sales of the blockade-
runners’ merchandise, as well as the advent of lawless and de-
praved characters attracted by the camps and shipping, had
quite changed the aspect of the whole community. The military
post, including all the river and harbor defenses, was under
the command of Maj. Gen. W. H. C. Whiting.

The Yellow Fever.

The distress of Wilmington during the yellow fever epidemic
was described as follows by the late Dr. Thomas F. Wood in
his biographical sketch of one of the heroes of that fearful
scourge, Dr. James H. Dickson, who died at his post of duty:

“The month of September, 1862, was one of great calamity
to Wilmington. The alarming forebodings of the visitation of
yellow fever in a pestilential form had ripened into a certainty.
Depleted of her young and active men, there was only a military
garrison in occupation, and when the presence of fever was
announced the soldiers were removed to a safer locality. The
country people, taking panic at the news of the presence of the
fever, no longer sent in their supplies. The town was deserted,
its silence broken only by the occasional pedestrian bound on
errands of mercy to the sick, or the rumbling of the rude funeral
cart. The blockade was being maintained with increased vigor.
The only newspaper then published was the Wilmington Jour-
nal, a daily under the editorship of James Fulton, and its issues
were maintained under the greatest difficulties, owing to the
scarcity of paper and to sickness among the printers. All eyes
were turned anxiously toward the physicians and those in au-
thority for help. To all the resident physicians the disease was
a new one ; not one in the number had ever seen a case of yellow
fever, and among them were men of large experience. The
municipal authorities recognized their helplessness ; the town
was neglected, for it had been overcrowded with soldiers and
visitors since the early days of the spring of 1861. The black
pall of smoke from the burning tar barrels added solemnity to
the deadly silence of the streets ; designed to purify the air and
mitigate the pestilence, it seemed more like fuliginous clouds of
ominous portent, a somber emblem of mourning. Panic, dis-
tress, mute despair, want, had fallen upon a population then
strained to its utmost, with the bleeding columns of its regi-

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285

ments dyeing the hills of Maryland with their blood, until the
whole air was filled with the wail of the widow and the orphan,
and the dead could no longer he honored with the last tribute of
respect.

“The Wilmington Journal of September 29, 1862, gave all
its available editorial space to chronicle, for the first time, the
character of the epidemic, and in a few brief words to notice
the death of some of the more prominent citizens. One para-
graph in the simple editorial notice ran as follows: ‘Dr. James
H. Dickson, a physician of the highest character and standing,
died here on Sunday morning of yellow fever. Dr. Dickson’s
death is a great loss to the profession and to the community.’
Close by, in another column, from the pen of the acting adju-
tant, Lieutenant VanBokkelen, of the Third 1ST. C. Infantry,
numbering so many gallant souls of the young men of Wilming-
ton, was the list of the killed and wounded on the bloody field
of Sharpsburg.

“Distressed and bereaved by this new weight of sorrow, Wil-
mington sat in the mournful habiliments of widowhood, striv-
ing, amidst the immensity of the struggle, to make her coura-
geous voice heard above all the din of war to nerve the brave
hearts who stood as a girdle of steel about beleaguered Richmond.

“James Fulton, the well-known proprietor of the Journal ,
the wary politician and cautious editor, striving to keep the
worst from the world, lest the enemy might use it to our dis-
advantage, often ruthlessly* suppressed from his limited space
such matters as in these days of historical research might he of
the greatest service. There were two predominant topics which
eclipsed all the impending sorrow and distress: first, foreign
intervention, for the purpose of bringing about an honorable
peace; second, warnings to the State government of the inade-
quacy of the defense of Wilmington Harbor against the enemy.
The former topic was discussed with unvarying pleasure. The
horizon of the future was aglow with the rosy dreams of man-
dates from the British and French Governments which would
bring independence to the Confederacy and peace and quietness
to the numerous homes, from the sea to the mountains, where
sorrow and death had hung like a pall. It is not strange, there-
fore, that the few publications that had survived the scarcity
of printing material should have contained so little biographical
matter. Comrades dropped on the right and on the left, hut
the ranks were closed up, the hurried tear wiped away, and the

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

line pushed steadily forward. The distinguished physician, or
general, or jurist, as well as the humble private, got his passing
notice in the meagre letters which a chance correspondent sent
to one of the few newspapers, and in a short time he was for-
gotten in the fresh calamity of the day.”

The following may be added to Dr. Wood’s interesting ac-
count :

In August, 1862, the military occupation, the laxity of mu-
nicipal control, the constant movement of troops, the utter neg-
lect of sanitary precautions, the non-enforcement of quarantine
regulations, practically invited the introduction of yellow fever
from Nassau by the daily arrival of blockade runners with
frequent cases of infection.

The first victim was a German wood-and-coal dealer named
Swartzman, whose place of business was on the wharf quite
near the landing place of the blockade runner Kate, which
brought the infection. My father was informed promptly of
this by our physician, Dr. James H. Dickson, who advised him
to remove his family at once to the country. As my father had
seen much of this terrible scourge in the West Indies and in
South America, he recognized the gravity of the situation, and
sent us all to Duplin County, where he had relatives. Before
we left, a ludicrous incident occurred which has stuck in my
memory. One of my brothers having kept to his room from
indisposition, was at once the object of much solicitude. My
father, being a bit of a medico, directed the hoy to put out his
tongue, which he did with evident reluctance, to the horror of
my father, who declared he had symptoms of yellow fever. A
shame-faced confession that the patient had been secretly chew-
ing tobacco, which had caused his sickness, relieved the situation
and calmed our fears. The year 1862 is still remembered by
our older people as a period of terror and dismay. The date
of frost was delayed nearly a whole month that fall and nothing
hut frost would stay the fearful pestilence.

Among the devoted hand of Christians who remained at their
post of duty and yielded up their lives while rendering succor
to those who could not leave, were Rev. R. B. Drane, rector of
St. James’s parish, aged 62 years; James S. Green, treasurer of
the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, aged 63 years ; Dr. J ames
H. Dickson, an accomplished physician and man of letters, aged
59 years; John W. K. Dix, a prominent merchant, aged 30
years; Isaac Northrop, a large mill owner, aged 67 years;

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287

James T. Miller, a prominent citizen and the collector of the
port, aged 47 years ; Rev. John L. Pritchard, a Baptist minister,
who fell at his post, never faltering, aged 51 years. Thomas
Clarkson Worth, an eminent merchant, after laboring among
the sick and destitute, yielded his life to the plague November
1, 1862; Cyrus Stowe Van Amringe, one of nature7 s noblemen,
who refused to leave and remained to help the sick, died at his
post, aged 26 years. Rev. Rather Murphy, a Roman Catholic
priest, a hero among heroes, worked night and day until nearly
the last victim had died, and then fell on sleep. Rev. A. Paul
Repiton was the only minister remaining in the city who sur-
vived. He worked unceasingly for the sick and buried the
dead. His name is blessed in the annals of Wilmington. Hun-
dreds of others bravely met the issue and remained to nurse the
sick during the horror, and few survived. Of about 3,000 in-
habitants who remained in the city, about 446 died within three
months. _

In a sketch of Wilmington in 1867, the late Joshua T. James
wrote of the epidemic as follows :

“In August, 1821, the yellow fever appeared here, introduced
by means of the brig John London from Havana. It raged
with great violence for about six weeks and a large proportion
of the citizens of the little town, then numbering only about
2,500 inhabitants, was swept away by it. In the autumn of
1862 its ravages were terrible. It began August 6 and ended
November 17, 446 persons having died of the plague within
that time. In this instance, as in the former, it was imported
from the Indies, and on this occasion by the steamship Kate , a
blockade runner, trading between this port and Nassau. For
over ten weeks it raged with terrible violence, and at a period,
too, when it was most difficult to combat its effects. Medicines
and provisions were both scarce and high in price, and the little
luxuries needed for the convalescent were most difficult to obtain.
Those of the frightened inhabitants that were able to do so fled
the town ; all business was abandoned, and the closed stores and
silent streets gave the place the appearance of a deserted city.
It was then, in that time of distress and suffering, that a few
of the noble spirits of Wilmington arose equal to the emergency.
Regardless of self, many of our oldest and most valued citizens
remained behind to minister to the wants of those who were
unable to leave. Distributing food to the poor, medicine and
attendance to the sick, consolation to the dying, and holy burial

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

to the dead, they remained behind when many others had fled,
and nobly fulfilled the trust they had assigned themselves.
Many of them escaped, but some fell, and those from the ranks
of the most honored and esteemed citizens of the town. Rest
they well, and rest they calmly. They need no monument above
their tombs ; that is to be found in the hearts of those who knew
them.”

War Prices in Wilmington.

As the war progressed the prices of food and clothing ad-
vanced in proportion to the depreciation of Confederate money ;
the plainest necessities were almost unobtainable — $50 for a
ham, $500 for a barrel of flour, $500 for a pair of boots, $600
for a suit of clothes, $1,500 for an overcoat, and $100 a pound
for coffee or tea, were readily paid as the fortunes of the Con-
federacy waned. Coffee was perhaps the greatest luxury and
was seldom used; substitutes of beans, potatoes, and rye with
“long sweetening” — sorghum — having been generally adopted.
Within a mile or two of our temporary home in the country there
lived two unattractive spinsters of mature age, one of whom, in
the other’s absence, was asked by an old reprobate of some means
in the neighborhood to marry him, a preposterous proposal,
which she indignantly rejected. Upon the return of the absent
sister, however, she was made to feel that she had thrown away
the golden opportunity of a lifetime ; for, said the sister, “Didn’t
you know he has a bag of coffee in his house ?”

Another true incident will also serve to illustrate the comic
side of the great crisis. Our evening meal consisted of milk,
rye coffee, yopon tea, honey, and one wheaten biscuit each, with
well-prepared corn muffins and hominy ad libitum. The bis-
cuit, however, were valued beyond price, and the right of each
individual to them was closely guarded by the younger members
of the family. One evening there appeared just before supper
an itinerant preacher, who was made welcome to the best we
had. Addressing himself with vigor to the tempting plate of
biscuit, and ignoring the despised muffins, which were politely
pressed upon him by the dismayed youngsters at his side, he
actually devoured the entire dozen with apparent ease and great
relish. Upon being informed at the hour of retiring that it
would be inconvenient to serve his breakfast at daylight, when
he desired to depart, he said, to our amazement, that, rather

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289

than disturb us in the early morning, he would take his break-
fast then and there before going to bed. But there were no
more biscuit to serve.

Southern Railroads in War Times.

The following incidents illustrating the physical condition of
the railroads in the South resulting from the incessant war
strain, which could not be remedied nor repaired because of in-
adequate facilities and lack of material, may he worth recording.

A few weeks after the termination of the four years’ war, I
was returning to our temporary home in Robeson County by
way of the Wilmington, Charlotte, and Rutherford Railroad,
now a part of the Carolina Central and Seaboard Air Line.
The track had been partly destroyed and the roadbed and roll-
ing stock were in a dangerous state of disruption and decay.
Our speed at five miles an hour was really perilous ; during the
frequent stops, we were repeatedly passed by an old darkey
laden with farming implements, who preferred the footpath to
the rickety railroad train. To each and every invitation from
the passengers to get on the train as we overtook him, he politely
responded, “Much obleeged, Boss, but I hain’t got time.”

Captain Hobart, of the British Navy, who subsequently be-
came admiral-in-chief of the Turkish Navy, commanded the
blockade runner Don, and made eight or ten successful runs to
Wilmington. He describes in the following incident a railroad
trip to Charleston during the war.

“I determined this time to have a look at Charleston, which
was then undergoing a lengthened and destructive siege. So,
after giving over my craft into the hands of the owners’ repre-
sentatives in Wilmington, who would unload and put her cargo
of cotton on hoard, I took my place in the train, and after pass-
ing thirty-six of the most miserable hours in my life traveling
the distance of one hundred and forty miles, I arrived at
Charleston, South Carolina, or rather near to that city, for the
train, disgusted I suppose with itself, ran quietly off the line
into a meadow about two miles from the station. The passen-
gers seemed perfectly contented, and shouldering their baggage
walked off into the town. I mechanically followed with my
portmanteau, and in due course arrived at the only hotel, where
I was informed I might have half a room.

“Acting on a hint I received from a waiter that food was

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

being devoured in the dining-room, and that if I did not look
out for myself I should have to do without that essential article
for the rest of the day, I hurried into the salle-a-manger , where
two long tables were furnished with all the luxuries then to be
obtained in Charleston, which luxuries consisted of lumps of
meat supposed to be beef, boiled Indian corn, and I think there
were the remains of a feathered biped or two, to partake of
which I was evidently too late. All these washed down with
water, or coffee without sugar, were not very tempting; but
human nature must be supported, so at it I set, and having
swallowed a sufficient quantity of animal food, I went off to my
room to take a pull at a bottle of brandy which I had sagaciously
stored in my carpet-bag. But alas, for the morals of the be-
leaguered city. I found, on arriving there, a darkey extended
at full length in happy oblivion on the floor, with the few clothes
I had with me forming his pillow, and the brandy bottle rolling
about alongside of him, empty.

“I first of all hammered his head against the floor, but the
floor had the worst of it ; then I kicked his shins (the only vul-
nerable part), but it was of no use; so, pouring the contents of
a water pitcher over him, in the hope that I might thus cause
awful dreams to disturb his slumbers, I left him, voting myself
a fool for leaving the key in my trunk.

“Having letters of introduction to some of General Beaure-
gard’s staff, I made my way to headquarters, where I met with
the greatest courtesy and kindness.”

Col. Alfred Moore Waddell wrote in his very interesting
reminiscences of a railroad tragedy during the war on what is
now a part of the great Atlantic Coast Line system, in which he
narrowly escaped death, but which involved a ludicrous scene,
as follows :

“The yellow fever was brought to Wilmington by a blockade
runner in August, 1862, and raged with terrible effect for two
or three months. Happening to be going from Richmond, Va.,
to Augusta, Ga., and stopping for a day or two in Wilmington,
just before the fever broke out, and hearing that a poor fellow
named Swartzman, a young German, was sick and alone, I
called at his room and sat by his bedside and tried to cheer him,
holding his hand in the meantime. I observed that he had
a very yellow appearance and supposed he had j aundice. After
sitting some time, I bade him good-bye, and a few hours later
left the city for Augusta. He died with black vomit within

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forty-eight hours, and his was the first case of the dreadful
scourge, or at least it was the first recognized case. My escape
was a signal mercy; and there was cause for additional grati-
tude when, on my return home, which was delayed until the
fever had disappeared, a dreadful railroad accident occurred
in which two young ladies sitting immediately behind me were
killed and every person in the car except one was hurt, while I
crawled out with slight injury. The railroad was in a very
dilapidated condition, as the war was going on and no means
of repairing it was available, and the engine ‘jumped the track7
twice after the accident, the last time being about ten miles
from Wilmington, whereupon, with several others, I left it and
walked to town. I have frequently related the circumstances
attending this fatal accident for the purpose of proving that,
according to my experience, there seldom occurs a tragedy with-
out some comic incident. In this case the comic incident was
as follows : Provisions of all kinds were hard to get, and seeing
an old ‘aunty7 at one of the stations with a box of ten dozen eggs,
I bought them, paying her five (Confederate) dollars per dozen
for them, and placed them under the seat in front of me, on
which Mr. James Dawson, of Wilmington, and another gentle-
man were sitting. When the accident occurred all the lights
in the car were extinguished, and, the night being very dark,
it was impossible to distinguish persons. Just after I crawled
out of the wreck, and while the cries and groans of the victims
were still going on, a feeble voice cried, ‘Gentlemen, I am bleed-
ing to death.7 At once recognizing the voice as that of Dawson
and expressing the hope that he was mistaken, he replied, ‘Ho,
just feel my head and my clothes.7 I did so, and the wet, slimy
clothes certainly seemed to verify his assertion. About that
time a lantern was brought by the conductor (Harry Brock)
and the revelation it made, in spite of the solemnity of the sur-
roundings, was ludicrous in the extreme. My box of eggs, when
the car turned over, had fallen on Dawson’s head and shoulders,
and the contents were streaming from his battered hat — an old
‘stove-pipe7 — and from his hair and face and arms in a yellow
cascade. His change of expression upon the discovery was even
more ridiculous than the plight he was in.77

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MRS. ARMAND J. DeROSSET.

(From the Confederate Veteran.)

This noble character deserves prominent record for her serv-
ices to the South. She was president of the Soldiers’ Aid
Society, of Wilmington, from the beginning to the end of the
war.

Endowed with administrative ability, which called forth the
remark, “She ought to have been a general,” gifted with unusual
largeness of heart and breadth of sympathy, she was a leader of
society, yet ever alive to the wants and the sufferings of the poor
and needy. Under her direction the Soldiers’ Aid Society was
early organized, and for four years did its work of beneficence
with unabated energy.

The North Carolina coast was especially inviting to the
attacks of the enemy, and Mrs. DeRosset’s household was re-
moved to the interior of the State. Her beautiful home in
Wilmington was despoiled largely of its belongings; servants
and children were taken away, hut she soon returned to Wil-
mington, where her devoted husband was detained by the re-
quirements of business, and here devoted herself to the work
of helping and comforting the soldiers.

Six of her own sons and three sons-in-law wore the gray.
The first work was to make clothing for the men. Many a poor
fellow was soon without a change of clothing. Large supplies
were made and kept on hand. Haversacks were home-made.
Canteens were covered. Cartridges for rifles, and powder-bags
for the great columbiads were made by hundreds. Canvas bags
to be filled with sand and used on the fortifications were re-
quired for Eort Eisher — and much more was in requisition.
The ladies would daily gather at the City Hall and ply their
busy needles or machines, with never a sigh of weariness.

When the troops were being massed in Virginia, Wilmington,
being the principal port of entry for the Confederacy, was
naturally an advantageous point for obtaining supplies through
the blockade, and Mrs. UeRosset, ever watching the opportunity
to secure them, had a large room in her dwelling fitted up as a
store-room. Many a veteran in these intervening years has
blessed the memory of Mrs. DeRosset and her faithful aids for
the comfort and refreshment so lavishly bestowed upon him.
Feasts without price were constantly spread at the depot. Nor
were the spiritual needs of the soldiers neglected. Bibles,

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293

prayer-books, and hymn books were distributed. Men still live
who treasure their war Bibles among their most valuable posses-
sions.

Mrs. DeRosset’s ability to overcome difficulties in getting all
she needed for the men was the constant wonder of those who
daily assisted her in her labors. An incident of her surpassing
executive power is worthy of record. After the first attack on
Fort Fisher, the garrison, under the command of the gallant
officers Whiting and Lamb, was in great peril and in need of
reinforcements, which came in Hoke’s division of several thou-
sand men — Clingman’s, Kirkland’s, Colquitt’s, and Hagood’s
brigades — with some of the Horth Carolina Junior Reserves.
The wires brought the news that in a few hours they would
arrive, hungry and footsore. Mrs. DeRosset was asked if the
ladies could feed them. The ready reply was flashed back : “Of
course we can” ; and she proved equal to the task. Through her
energies and resources, and those of her able corps of assistants,
she redeemed her pledge.

The harrowing scenes of hospital life followed, and here, as
elsewhere, Mrs. DeRosset’s labors were abundant. The sick
were ministered to by tender hands, the wounded carefully
nursed, and the dead decently buried. The moving spirit in
all these works of beneficence was the Soldiers’ Aid Society,
directed by Mrs. DeRosset.

When all was over, Mrs. DeRosset was the first to urge the
organization of the Ladies’ Memorial Association for perpetu-
ating the memory of the brave soldiers who died for our cause.
Though persistently refusing to accept office, she remained a
faithful member of the association as long as she lived.

A sketch of Mrs. DeRosset’s work during the Confederacy
would not be complete without some recognition of the valuable
assistance given her by all her colleagues, and especially Jby
Mrs. Alfred Martin, the vice president. That she was looked
up to as their leader does not in the least degree detract from
the value of their services, for without strong hands and willing
hearts the head would be of little avail, and she never failed to
give due meed of appreciation to all who helped her in her work.
From her own countrywomen such devotion was to be expected,
but the German women of the city entered into the work, zeal-
ously giving their means as well as their time to the call of their
president. Were it not open to a charge of invidiousness, a few
names might be singled out as especially helpful and interested

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in serving the country of their adoption, with the unwearied
fidelity of true-hearted women of every land.

Her labors ended, Mrs. DeRosset has for years rested peace-
fully under the shade of the Oakdale trees, waiting her joyful
resurrection. The daughters of the South could have no better,
purer model, should their beloved country ever call on them,
as it did on her, in time of need.

Of her own sons, one noble boy of seventeen sleeps in Oakdale
Cemetery, with “Only a Private” inscribed on a stone marking
his resting place.

Her oldest son. Col. William L. DeRosset, of the gallant
Third Horth Carolina Infantry, was wounded nigh unto death
at Sharpsburg.

Her second son, Dr. M. John DeRosset, assistant surgeon at
Bellevue Hospital, Hew York, with most flattering offers of
promotion in a Hew York regiment, resigned his commission,
came South, and was commissioned assistant surgeon, with
orders to report to Jackson, in whose command he shared the
perils of the famous Valley campaign of 1862. Later, he was
one of the surgeons in charge of the hospital in the Baptist
College, Richmond.

Another son, Capt. A. L. DeRosset, of the Third Horth Caro-
lina Infantry, was several times disabled by slight wounds, and
at Averasboro was left for dead on the field. He owes his recov-
ery to the skill and care of a Federal surgeon, into whose hands
he fell.

Louis H. DeRosset, being physically incapacitated for active
duty, was detailed in the Ordnance and Quartermaster’s Depart-
ments, and was sent to Hassau on business connected with the
latter.

Thomas C. DeRosset, the youngest of the six, a boy at school,
enlisted before the call for the Junior Reserves, and was detailed
for duty under Maj. M. P. Taylor, at the Fayetteville arsenal.
He died in 1878 from sunstroke when in command of the Whit-
ing Rifles, attending the memorial services at Oakdale Cemetery.

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295

CONFEDERATE HEROES.

From personal knowledge and from available records I have
added to this narrative the following names of the living and
the dead identified with Wilmington, which are held in grateful
remembrance by those who recall their devotion to the Lost
Cause. Hundreds of others, equally meritorious, are upon the
roll of honor, but because of limited space I can include only the
names of company and regimental leaders of the Lower Cape
Fear, and some others whose record is known to me.

As has been said elsewhere, prior to the formal secession of
the State of North Carolina from the Union, affairs in Charles-
ton had taken such a turn that the citizens of Wilmington antici-
pated the occupation and strengthening of Forts Caswell and
Johnston at the mouth of the Cape Fear by the Federal Govern-
ment. To prevent that, a Committee of Safety was organized
in Wilmington, and a call made for volunteers to enlist for
immediate service. This call was promptly answered, and John
J. Hedrick was chosen commander. These minute men em-
barked on January 10, 1861, for the mouth of the river and,
being joined by a Smithville detachment, speedily took posses-
sion of the two forts.

The Cape Fear Light Artillery was recruited from the local
military companies, and especially from the body of minute
men that took possession of Forts Caswell and Johnston prior
to the formal secession of the State. Under this name the com-
pany served throughout the war.

Gen. W. H. C. Whiting was a distinguished West Point engi-
neer, a man of great ability. His wife was a Miss Walker, of
Wilmington, and at the outbreak of the war he was a Wilming-
tonian by adoption, well-known and highly esteemed. The day
after the fall of Fort Sumter, he came to Wilmington and by
courtesy assumed command, and for some weeks directed the
preparations for defense. He was, however, needed at the front
and was chief engineer with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Har-
per’s Ferry and at Manassas. After brilliant service in Vir-
ginia, on November 17, 1862, he again assumed command of the
defenses of the Cape Fear.

Wilmington was the most important port of the Confederacy
for the receipt of supplies and munitions of war, and an officer

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

recognized in both armies as without a superior as an engineer
was entrusted with its defense. General Whiting entered the
army with the highest record ever made by any graduate at
West Point. Having been before the war in charge of the
improvements of the harbor and the lower part of the river, he
was entirely familiar with the topography of the country, and
he exerted every energy for a successful defense. Later, he was
assigned to the command of a division in Virginia, but in the
summer of 1864 he returned to the Cape Pear.

General Whiting was mortally wounded in the second attack
on Fort Fisher, when he exposed himself with unsurpassed
heroism. He died a prisoner at Fort Columbus, Hew York
Harbor, March 10, 1865. His remains were brought home,
and now rest in Oakdale Cemetery beside those of his most
estimable wife, who after some years followed him.

Col. Gaston Meares was appointed colonel of the Third Regi-
ment on its first organization, with Robert H. Cowan, lieutenant
colonel, and William L. DeRosset, major.

Mr. Meares, when quite a young man, moved to the West
from Wilmington, and engaged in the Mexican War, attaining
the rank of colonel. On the secession of Horth Carolina, he
reported to the Governor for duty, and was at once commis-
sioned as colonel and given command of the Third Regiment,
then just organized. Colonel Meares was a man of marked in-
dividuality, respected by his superior officers, beloved by his
subordinates, and commanded the admiration and confidence
of the men of his regiment, for he was always intrepid, and in
him they recognized a leader who would lead.

At Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862, while on foot in front of the
line and from a slight elevation surveying the enemy through
his field glasses, he was instantly killed by a slug from a shrap-
nel fired from a battery directly in front and not over seventy-
five yards distant.

Major DeRosset succeeded his brother-in-law, Colonel Meares,
in command of the regiment ; Lieutenant Colonel Cowan having
been promoted before that to the colonelcy of the Eighteenth
Regiment.

William Lord DeRosset was a member of one of the oldest
and most prominent families of Wilmington, being the eldest
of six sons of Dr. Armand J. DeRosset, all of whom served in
the Confederate Army except one, who, being physically in-

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297

capacitated for active duty, was detailed to the Ordnance and
Quartermaster’s Departments. In 1861 William L. DeRosset
was captain of the Wilmington Light Infantry. When Fort
Sumter was bombarded, several volunteer companies were or-
dered to occupy Fort Caswell, the Light Infantry being among
them. Later, when the Constitutional Convention authorized
the organization of ten regiments, enlisted for the war and
known as State Troops, he was commissioned major of the
Third Regiment. Succeeding Colonel Meares in command
when the latter fell at Malvern Hill, he led the regiment into
the Battle of Sharpsburg in September, 1862. He was seri-
ously wounded; and, finding himself permanently disabled, he
resigned, and was enrolled in another branch of the service.

When Fort Caswell was first occupied, January 10, 1861,
the Smithville Guards, a volunteer company, of which Stephen
D. Thurston was captain, joined the men enrolled in Wilming-
ton, and took part in occupying Forts Johnston and Caswell.
Captain Thurston was a few months later appointed captain of
Company B. of the Third Regiment, and before Sharpsburg
he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At Sharpsburg
when Colonel DeRosset fell wounded, Lieut. Col. Stephen D.
Thurston took immediate command of the regiment, and proved
a brave and valiant soldier, leading the Third in gallant style
during the rest of the battle, where they “were in the vortex of
the fire, and proved their endurance, tenacity, and valor.” Of
the twenty-seven officers who went into action on that memor-
able morning all save three were disabled, seven being killed.
Colonel Thurston was disabled for several months, hut returned
to his command in September, 1864. He was again seriously
wounded on the 19th of September, at Second Winchester.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Parsley was in command dur-
ing the absence of Colonel Thurston.

William Murdock Parsley, in April, 1861, was commissioned
captain of a company he organized and which was composed
chiefly of the young men of Wilmington. They had formed a
company in the fall of 1860, under the name of “Cape Fear
Riflemen,” and were among those who occupied Fort Caswell.
After North Carolina seceded, the Cape Fear Riflemen returned
to Wilmington and disbanded. They were almost immediately
reorganized under Captain Parsley and completely uniformed
by his father, Mr. O. G. Parsley, sr. The captain was just

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

twenty years old, and many of his men were not much older.
The company was attached to the Third Regiment, one of the
ten organized as State Troops and enlisted for the war. They
were ordered to Richmond in June, and, arriving just after the
Battle of Seven Pines, Mechanicsville was their first engage-
ment. They took part in the Seven Days’ Battle, and on July 1,
at Malvern Hill, Captain Parsley was severely wounded through
the neck by a minie ball; but, after a three-months’ furlough,
he returned to his command and was in every battle up to
Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862.

Before that time he had by regular gradation reached the
rank of major, and, subsequently, on the resignation of Colonel
DeRosset and the promotion of Lieutenant Colonel Thurston,
he became lieutenant colonel. In the campaign of 1863, known
as the Pennsylvania Campaign, Colonel Parsley had command
of the regiment. He led it in the charge at Culp’s Hill on the
3d of July, when, with the Maryland Battalion, they took pos-
session of the enemy’s works. The Third was greatly reduced
by severe fighting at Chancellorsville and had had no chance to
recruit its ranks since. This proud regiment that went into the
field over a thousand strong in the Seven Days’ Battle was, after
Getty shurg, ' so much reduced that the major at the head of the
column and the assistant surgeon, at the foot, could carry on a
conversation without effort. Every officer of Major Parsley’s
old company, the Cape Pear Riflemen, was killed.

One of the original members of this old company, writing in
1898 of Colonel Parsley, says, “As brave as the bravest, kind
and considerate towards inferiors in rank, he was at all times
thoughtful and careful of his men in every way. I believe all
loved him. I know I loved him, for he was my good friend.”
Another comrade says : “The major himself, only twenty-two or
twenty-three years old, had been in every engagement from the
Seven Days’ Battle to Gettysburg. His training had been
under the eye of Col. Gaston Meares, and, as promotion fol-
lowed promotion, Colonel Parsley was always a disciplinarian
of the progressive type. On occasion he could be a hoy and
enter a wrestling match in camp with all the zest of a schoolboy,
but woe to the officer who presumed upon this to take official
liberties.”

Between Gettysburg and Chancellorsville he received two
slight wounds, one being a narrow escape from death by the
glancing of a hall on the button of his coat. At Spottsylvania,

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299

May 12, 1864, Colonel Thurston being absent, wounded, Lieu-
tenant Colonel Parsley led the regiment, and with the greater
part of it, after a desperate hand to hand light at the “Horse-
shoe,” or “Bloody Angle,” he was captured and confined at Fort
Delaware. From there, with fifty other officers, he was trans-
ferred to Charleston Harbor on the prison ship Dragon and
anchored in the line of fire from Charleston, “in retaliation” for
the quartering of some Federal officers, prisoners, in the city of
Charleston as a protection to the city, full of non-combatants,
against the Federal firing from the “Swamp Angel Battery.”

The prisoners on the Dragon were kept between decks, over-
crowded, near a stove where all the cooking for the whole ship
was done. Ventilation was bad, and the suffering from the heat
almost unbearable. They were supplied scantily with the coars-
est of food and subjected to all kinds of indignities. From here
they were exchanged on the 3d of August. Colonel Parsley
returned to the army not long afterwards, taking with him a
number of recruits for his regiment. He shared the fortunes of
the Third till April, 1865. Just three days before Lee’s sur-
render, in the engagement at Sailor’s Creek during the retreat
to Appomattox, when only twenty-four years old, he met his
death by a minie ball fired by. a sharpshooter, falling with his
face to the foe.

Capt. W. T. Ennet, originally of Onslow County, was pro-
moted to be major after the resignation of Colonel DeRosset,
and always after that commanded the regiment in the absence of
Colonel Parsley. He was unfortunately captured at Spottsyl-
vania and sent to Fort Delaware, and was among those taken to
Charleston Harbor on the prison ship Dragon , suffering the
hardships of imprisonment with the rest. Major Ennet was by
profession a physician and highly accomplished. He was also
a brave soldier and a warm friend.

Col. Robert H. Cowan was first chosen lieutenant colonel of
the Third Regiment, but in the spring of 1862 was elected
colonel of the eighteenth. The Third Regiment parted with
sincere regret from Colonel Cowan. The whole command, both
rank and file, loved him and recognized him as one of those by
whom the regiment had been brought to its fine efficiency. The
esteem in which he was held was manifested on his departure
by the presentation to him by the regiment of a very fine horse.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Colonel Cowan was a native of Wilmington and was prominent
in the politics of the State. No man was more loved and
admired than he. His gallantry was unequaled, while his
charming personality and graceful manners are well remem-
bered by all who knew him. He was wounded severely at the
last of the Seven Days Battles around Richmond, and being dis-
abled from service, resigned in November, 1862.

Col. John L. Cantwell saw active service in the Mexican
War, in the War between the States, and subsequently in the
Spanish- American War. The records say “that seldom has the
flag of a country waved over a braver soldier.77 His service
as colonel of the Thirtieth Regiment, North Carolina Militia,
in taking possession of Torts Caswell and Johnston on April 16,
1861, is told elsewhere. On its organization, April 13, 1862,
Colonel Cantwell was elected colonel of the Fifty-first Regi-
ment, but resigned and enlisted as a private in Company F,
Third Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Capt. William M.
Parsley, on whose promotion after the Battle of Sharpsburg, he
became captain of the company, and was a most efficient and
gallant officer in that famous regiment. Unfortunately, he was
captured in the “Bloody Angle’7 at Spottsylvania Courthouse on
May 12, 1864, along with nearly the entire regiment, during the
course of the most terrible engagement of the war. His military
training was manifest throughout his civil life, in which, as
agent of the Adams Express Company, as a produce broker, as
secretary of the Wilmington Produce Exchange, and for many
years secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, he maintained a
careful and sometimes exaggerated regard for official detail.

During the War between the States he kept a diary of im-
portant events in which he, with other Wilmingtonians, was
engaged, and this precious little hook, which he carefully
guarded for nearly fifty years and always carried in his pocket,
was a veritable vade mecum , or last resort, on any disputed
point of military history. It contained particularly a careful
record of the names and incidents connected with the Federal
retaliation upon six hundred Confederate officers, including
Colonel Cantwell and Capt. John Cowan, of the Third Infan-
try, Capt. Walter G. MacRae, of the Seventh Infantry, Capt.
T. C. Lewis, of the Eighteenth Infantry, Capt. J. D. McMillan,
of the First Infantry, Capt. F. F. Floyd, of the Fifty-first In-
fantry, Capt. J. W. Moon, of the Third Cavalry, and Capt. J.

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301

H. Bloodworth, of the Fourth Cavalry, from Wilmington, as
well as Capt. G. M. Crapon, of the Third Infantry, and Capt.
H. Earp, of the Twenty-fourth Infantry, from Southport, who,
by Secretary Stanton’s order, were removed from their quarters
in the North as prisoners of war and placed under double cross
fire on Morris Island, exposed to almost certain death.

When Chief Justice Clark was completing the fifth volume
of his most valuable Regimental Histories , he requested me to
persuade Capt. Walter G. MacRae, then mayor of Wilmington,
to write an account of that expedition for his history. This
Captain MacRae consented to do, and when the narrative was
completed, he wisely asked Colonel Cantwell to listen to its
recital in order that its accuracy might he clearly established.
The colonel, who was afflicted with deafness, nodded his approval
until, in describing the incident of the separation of the trans-
port from its armed convoy while off Wrightsville Beach, and
a hurried discussion by the prisoners of a proposed attempt to
escape through the surf and its final rejection because of the
great risk of life involved, Captain MacRae fell into a habit
he has of quoting obscure Bible characters and said that the
counsel of Ahithophel prevailed. Instantly the colonel held up
a restraining hand, and, with the other cupped to his ear, de-
manded to know the name of that man. “Ahithophel” repeated
Captain MacRae. “No, no,” said the colonel, “there was no
such person abroad.” “But let me explain,” said MacRae.
“No explanation can falsify this hook,” said the colonel, as he
ran his fingers down the list of the six hundred. “Ahithophel,
Ahithophel! No such person aboard, sir, he was doubtless a
rank impostor” ; and failing to make his meaning clear, Captain
MacRae was obliged to delete his quotation from the sacred book
of Samuel.

Colonel Cantwell’s old-time affability and gentle courtesy
won him many friends, but while he was patient and responsive
to polite advances, he was quick to resent a fancied or real
affront. A few years before his death he attended with his
accustomed regularity a prominent church service in a neigh-
boring city. As no usher approached him, he quietly walked
up the centre aisle, looking smilingly from right to left, expect-
ing an invitation to be seated, hut, no man regarding him, he
turned back at the chancel rail and walked quietly out. Pres-
ently he reappeared in the vestibule with a short piece of scant-
ling, which he had found near by, and with this improvised seat

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

under his arm, marched solemnly up to the chancel rail and
deliberately sat in the aisle on the wooden block throughout the
sermon. Then, as he entertained a strong objection to the offer-
tory formality in the service as an idolatrous innovation, he
walked quietly out again, to the evident relief of the congrega-
tion, who feared he might brain the parson with the piece of
timber. He bore himself bravely throughout his long and hon-
ored life and met the infirmities of old age with a smiling coun-
tenance.

Besides these, a host of others whose services should not be
forgotten crowd the memory. Brave Maj. Alexander MacBae,
of age far too advanced for service in the field in Virginia,
accepted command of the First Battalion of Heavy Artillery in
General Hebert’s brigade, and did duty at the mouth of the
Cape Fear until the fall of Fort Fisher. The gallant old father
was worthily followed by his brave sons, whose record appears
elsewhere.

John J. Hedrick was major of engineers. He was a brave
and skillful artillery commander, and had been in active ser-
vice since the beginning of the war. In the early days of the
conflict he had charge of the erection of batteries at Confederate
Point and in the vicinity, one small fort on Bald Head being
named Fort Hedrick in his honor. When the Fortieth Regi-
ment (Third Artillery) was organized in December, 1863,
Major Hedrick was appointed its colonel. This regiment took
part in the defense of Fort Fisher, December 24 and 25, 1864,
and January 13, 1865, and on January 17 it was ordered to
Fort Anderson, about ten miles up the river, where the garrison
of about 900 men was under the immediate command of Colonel
Hedrick. On February 17, the enemy attacked the fort in the
rear with about 10,000 infantry, while Porter, with a fleet of
sixteen gunboats and ironclads, lying within a few hundred
yards of the fort, quickly demolished the guns. In this fight,
under Colonel Hedrick’s leadership, great bravery and heroism
were shown; but, finding the command in danger of being cut
off by a heavy column of infantry in the rear, Colonel Hedrick
determined to evacuate the fort. Carrying all the light guns,
including the Whitworth cannon, they fell back towards Wil-
mington. Later, while on the way to meet the enemy advancing
from Hew Bern, there was a battle at Jackson’s Mills, in which

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about 2,000 Federal prisoners were captured; but the Confed-
erate loss was heavy. Here, while gallantly leading his regi-
ment in a charge upon the enemy, Colonel Hedrick was seri-
ously wounded.

John D. Barry enlisted as a private in Company I, Eighth
Regiment, and on the reorganization was elected captain of the
company. On the fall of the gallant Colonel Purdie, of Bladen
County, in June, 1863, he became colonel of the regiment. He
was a valiant and dashing officer, and nobly upheld the tradi-
tions of his family, one of the best of the Cape Fear section, his
grandfather being Gen. Thomas Owen and his great uncle,
Gov. James Owen. The companies composing the Eighth Regi-
ment of Volunteers (afterwards the Eighteenth North Carolina
State Troops) were:

The Wilmington Light Infantry, Capt. Henry Savage; the
Wilmington Rifle Guards, Capt. Robert Williams; the Scotch
Boys, Capt. Charles Malloy; the German Volunteers, Capt. C.
Cornehlson; and the companies of Capt. George Tait, of Bladen
County; Capt. Robert Tait. of Bladen County; Captain Hor-
ment, of Robeson County ; Captain Gore, of Whiteville, Colum-
bus County; Capt. J. R. Hawes, of Long Creek, Hew Hanover
County.

About the first of August, 1864, General Lane being wounded,
Colonel Barry was appointed temporary brigadier general and
commanded the brigade, skirmishing almost daily till the 28th.
Subsequently, while on a reconnoitering tour, Colonel Barry
was wounded by a sharpshooter. Some time in the latter part
of 1864, when General Lane returned to the brigade, Colonel
Barry, on account of his wounds and impaired health, was as-
signed to departmental duty with his regular grade of colonel.

After the close of the war, he returned to Wilmington and, in
partnership with William H. Bernard, began the publication of
the Dispatch. Only a few years of broken health remained to
him, and nearly fifty years ago he died in the old house he had
left in vigorous youth and with high hopes in 1861.

A few years ago, Col. John D. Taylor passed from our midst,
leaving a great name as a soldier and a Christian gentleman,
with an affectionate memory of his manly figure, his gentle,
sympathetic smile, and the empty sleeve he wore. He was cap-
tain in the Thirty-sixth Regiment (Second Artillery), was

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promoted to lieutenant colonel, and served at different points
in defense of the Cape Fear. After the fall of Fort Fisher, Col-
onel Taylor fought at Fort Anderson and Town Creek, on the
retreat to Wilmington, and at Kinston ; and he and a part of his
regiment made their way to the field of Bentonville and took
part in that battle, covering themselves with glory as part of the
“Red Infantry,” Colonel Taylor there losing his left arm.

Upon the death of Colonel Taylor, the following tribute of a
devoted friend was published in the Star , May 22, 1912 :

“A fellow-townsman recently said to the writer: ‘I never

passed Colonel Taylor upon the street without exercising the
privilege of shaking his hand, because I believed that he exem-
plified in his daily life, to a remarkable degree, those virtues
which adorn the character of the Southern Christian gentleman/

“His old-time urbanity, his winsome smile, his almost wom-
anly tenderness, his gentle patience, his childlike faith, drew
him to our hearts and we loved him. Probably no citizen of
our community was more generally respected. There was a
quiet dignity in this serene, devout Christian, which told of con-
flicts won while learning to endure hardness as a good soldier,
and of a peace which passes the understanding of this world,
which enabled him’ to look o’er heights of toil and sacrifice and
find his chief meed in thoughts of duty done.

“During his long and honored life he inspired the hearts and
guided the steps of worthy sons and daughters in the way of life,
to the end that they might ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’
His children rise up and call him blessed.

“In public life he discharged his official duties with diligence,
ability, impartiality, and uprightness. Party lines vanished in
the pure light of his moral excellence, and his return to office
at the expiration of each term, without a dissenting vote, attest
the abiding confidence of his fellow-citizens.

“Eminent among the local leaders of the Lost Cause, he be-
lieved, with his great chieftain, that Duty is the sublimest word
in our language, ‘and by it as a pilot star, he ever steered his
steadfast course.’ He went into his last battle at Bentonville
with Company A, Captain Rankin, Company B, Captain Tay-
lor, Company C, Captain Brown, and Captain McDougal’s com-
pany, and a remnant of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, in all 350
men; and he emerged with nineteen other survivors, an honor-
able record, and an empty sleeve. Rankin, Taylor, McDougal
and Brown were desperately wounded, and Colonel Taylor was

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the only officer who survived the desperate and bloody charge of
the ‘Red Infantry.7

“He sheathed his sword when the cause for which he fought
was lost, hut he put on the invisible armor of the soldier of the
Cross, and has fought a good fight and laid hold on eternal
life. The greater number of his devoted comrades have crossed
over the river and rest with their commander under the shade
of the trees.

“We read that at the roll call of the flower of Napoleon’s
army, the Imperial Guard, as silence fell upon the utterance of
a name which death had claimed from the arms of victory, a
comrade would step forward from the ranks, and, raising his
hand in grave salute, would answer, ‘Died on the field of honor !’
The thin gray line of Appomattox, diminishing day by day as it
yields to the call of the great Conqueror, still closes up its broken
ranks of hoary heads and feeble knees. Soon it will vanish
away and there will be no reverent comrade’s voice to answer
the roll call of the dead. But ‘Death’s truer name is Onward.
No discordance in the roll of that eternal harmony whereto the
worlds heat time!’

‘The glory born of goodness never dies,

Its flag is not half-masted in the skies!’

“In the sessions of his beloved church, our friend will he
greatly missed — in no circle beyond his beautiful home life was
he more welcome than in that of the church of his fathers.

“David Worth, DuBrutz Cutlar, Kenneth Murchison, Wil-
liam DeRosset, Alfred Waddell, John D. Taylor, classmates all
at Chapel Hill, were of the flower of Wilmington, and they are
gone; hut to live in the hearts of those we love is not to die.
‘By the light of their lofty deeds and kindly virtues, memory
gazes hack into the past and is content ; by the light of Revela-
tion, hope looks beyond the grave into the bright day of immor-
tality and is happy.’ ”

Edward D. Hall organized at Wilmington, in the spring of
1861, a company composed principally of Irishmen; and no
better or more loyal men or braver soldiers could be found.
When work or fighting was to be done they were always ready.
This company was first stationed at Fort Caswell; was later
sent to Weldon and attached to the Second Regiment, North
Carolina Infantry, and ordered to Richmond, and from there
to various points in Virginia until the spring of 1862, when it

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

was returned to North Carolina with General Holmes’s division,
and was afterwards detached and sent to the Cape Fear and
stationed at fortifications on the river.

In March, 1862, Captain Hall was made colonel of the Forty-
sixth Regiment, organized at Camp Mangum near Raleigh.
Ordered to Virginia, this regiment bore a conspicuous part in
the Battle of Sharpsburg, calling forth from the division com-
mander especial mention of its gallant colonel and staff for
distinguished bravery and coolness under fire. During that day
the regiment occupied several positions of importance and great
danger, and on every occasion it exhibited that steadiness and
coolness which characterized its record. In October, at Bristow
Station, General Cooke fell, and the command of the brigade
devolved on Colonel Hall. An unequal struggle was waged,
and disaster was averted only by Colonel Hall’s skillful manage-
ment of his command. Late in 1863, Colonel Hall resigned to
accept a civil office in North Carolina, and the regiment lost its
brilliant commander, a brave man, a good disciplinarian, a most
valuable and efficient officer. It was with much regret that his
regiment bade him farewell.

Alexander Duncan Moore, who at first commanded a battery
of light artillery from Wilmington, was made colonel of the
Sixty-sixth Regiment, organized in August, 1863. Colonel
Moore had been at West Point and was a brilliant young officer
of remarkable appearance and soldierly bearing. The Sixty-
sixth was ordered to Virginia in May, 1864, where, in “its first
baptism of fire on the 15th of May, its gallantry was conspicu-
ous and favorably commented upon by commanding officers.” A
series of battles followed, and on the 3d of June, 1864, Colonel
Moore was mortally wounded, a ball striking him in the neck.
The memory of his heroic courage was ever after present with
the officers and men of his command, and comments were made
upon his gallantry and the soldierly qualities he always ex-
hibited.

In the attack on Petersburg Colonel Moore was told that his
regiment was advancing too rapidly ahead of the right and left,
and he was directed to preserve the alignment. On receiving
this order, Colonel Moore seized his colors, planted the staff
upon the ground, and lifted his sword in the air above his head,
the well known signal ; his command halted and dressed on the
colors, until the regiments on the right and left came upon the

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307

same line — then, with a jell, all three sprang forward and
rushed upon the enemy. The movement was successful and the
foe retreated.

George Tait, of Bladen County, who was elected major of
the Eighth Regiment in July, 1861, resigned his commission,
and was, with Company K, of the Fortieth Regiment, stationed
at a battery near Federal Point Lighthouse. On the 1st of
December, 1863, when the Fortieth Regiment was organized as
Third Artillery, Captain Tait was appointed lieutenant colonel.
In January, 1865, he resigned this commission to take one as
colonel of the Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment. Colonel
Tait was a fine disciplinarian. He remained detached from the
Fortieth Regiment after it had been formed in order to train,
drill, and discipline the officers and men of the Thirty-sixth;
and then he drilled and disciplined the Fortieth, which was
afterwards pronounced by the inspector general, Colonel Tan-
sill, “the best drilled regiment of Confederate soldiers” that he
had ever seen.

Colonel Tait was a good and brave officer and in his rank had
no superior.

Maj. James Dillard Radcliffe, then connected with the Engi-
neer Department of the Cape Fear defenses, was elected colonel
of the Eighth Regiment of Volunteers, on its first organization
in 1861. Colonel Radcliffe, who had been principal of a mili-
tary school in Wilmington for several years previous to the war,
was an excellent drillmaster and disciplinarian, and soon had
the regiment well drilled. On the reorganization in 1862, the
regiment then being the Eighteenth State Troops, he was not re-
elected ; but he became colonel of the Sixty-first Regiment when
it was organized, in August, 1862.

Alfred M. Waddell, lieutenant colonel of the Forty-first Regi-
ment (Third Cavalry) was a scion of one of the old and vener-
ated families of the Cape Fear. He was commissioned lieu-
tenant colonel in August, 1863, having previously served as
adjutant. His regiment was scattered over an extended field of
operations, and operated as detached cavalry, or partisan ran-
gers. In August, 1864, Colonel Waddell resigned. After the
war, as long as he lived, he always used his brilliant talent and
eloquence in behalf of his comrades and his fellow-citizens of
the Cape Fear.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

In August, 1863, Roger Moore, a descendant of “King”
Roger Moore, was appointed major of the Third Cavalry. He
was a brave soldier, maintaining the honor of his ancestors upon
the field. In August, 1864, when Colonel Waddell resigned,
Major Moore became commanding officer of the regiment, which
was looked upon as a bulwark of protection for the railroad
from Weldon to Wilmington and of all that portion of thirty
counties east of it which was not in the hands of the enemy.
Protecting the villages and settlements from forays, guarding the
cross-roads and bridges, and checking the approach of the enemy
whenever he advanced beyond his gunboats, this regiment daily
and hourly did service of vital importance. In 1864 the regi-
ment was ordered to Virginia and took part in the brilliant
attack on Reams Station, August 25, 1864, following which
General Lee wrote to Governor Vance: “If those men who

remain in North Carolina have the spirit of those sent to the
field, as I doubt not they have, her defense may he securely
entrusted to their hands.”

John Grange Ashe entered the Confederate service in April,
1861, as lieutenant under Gen. Braxton Bragg, at Pensacola.
He was appointed acting adjutant general to Gen. Robert Ran-
som in June, 1862, and later in the same year was made major
of sharpshooters. He also participated in the Red River cam-
paign with Gen. Dick Taylor, in 1864. He died in Texas in
1867.

William S. Ashe was appointed major quartermaster July 17,
1861, and colonel quartermaster, September 25, 1861. He had
in charge all Confederate transportation east of the Mississippi
River. Desiring more active service, in the summer of 1862
he was authorized by President Davis to raise a legion of artil-
lery, cavalry, and infantry, hut before he had been able to do so,
he was killed in a railroad accident in September, 1862.

Dr. Alexander Ashe served as assistant surgeon in the Con-
federate Navy. He died in Texas, 1866.

Samuel A. Ashe was appointed lieutenant of artillery on
April 17, 1861, by Major Whiting, who had assumed command
of the Cape Pear defenses, and in May was commissioned by the
State. Although all North Carolina staff appointments ceased
on the transfer of our troops to the Confederacy on August 20,
1861, he and Capt. John C. Winder continued at their work
until November, when he was relieved. Captain Ashe then
joined, as a volunteer, Company I, Eighth Regiment, at the

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front at Coosawhatchie, S. C. ; and later enlisted regularly as a
private in that company. But in December, the President ap-
pointed him in the Regular Army, and in March, 1862, the
commission came to him through Gen. R. E. Lee, then command-
ing at the South. He was assigned to duty at the Charleston
arsenal, where he remained until the middle of July, when he
was appointed acting adjutant general to General Pender, and
joined Pender’s brigade in Virginia. The night following the
Battle of Second Manassas, he fell into the enemy’s hands and
was confined in the Old Capitol Prison until October, when he
was exchanged. In November he was assigned to duty with
General Clingman’s brigade, and in July, 1863, became ord-
nance officer of Battery Wagner, and continued so until the fall
of that fort in September, when he was ordered to the arsenal at
Fayetteville, where he served as assistant to the commanding
officer until the end of the war. On the day General Johnston
surrendered, Captain Ashe’s chief, General Gorgas, at Char-
lotte, in the most appreciative terms gave him orders to join him
across the Mississippi, but later told him he could go home and
govern himself according to circumstances.

At the election in 1870, he was elected a representative from
Hew Hanover and became a very active member of the Legisla-
ture, chairman of the Finance Committee, and leading member
of the Judiciary and other committees. In 1874 he edited at
Raleigh a daily paper, the Evening Crescent , which probably
did more than any other one instrumentality in bringing about
the redemption of the State, the Democratic majority that year
being 12,000. In 1879 he purchased the Observer , and in 1881
he consolidated the News with it, founding the News and Ob-
server, of which he was editor until 1894. In 1903 he became
editor of a Biographical History of North Carolina , of which
seven volumes have been printed, and in 1908, his History of
North Carolina (1584-1783) was published.

Col. John Wilder Atkinson entered the service of the Confed-
erate States in 1861 as captain of a volunteer company, which
was assigned as Company A to the Fifteenth Virginia Infantry.
With this regiment he took part in the action at Big Bethel in
1861, and at the Battle of Seven Pines served on the staff of
General McLaws, who took occasion to mention his services in
his official report. He was then promoted to be major and trans-
ferred to the nineteenth Virginia Regiment of Artillery. To
this the Tenth Virginia was added in 1863, and he was pro-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

moted to colonel of the consolidated command. He took part in
the Seven Days’ Battle before Richmond, and subsequently
remained on duty in the Richmond defenses, where he was,
toward the last, in frequent and arduous service combating the
Federal raids and defending the city against regular siege. He
took a prominent part in the defeat of the raider Dahlgren, and
buried the body of that evil-minded man. For some time he was
in command of a part of the defenses about the Confederate
Capital. His last battle was at Sailor’s Creek, where he was
captured. Thence he was taken to Johnson’s Island, but through
the influence of his kinsman, Gen. Winfield Scott, was soon
released without taking the oath. In 1866, Colonel Atkinson
made his home in Wilmington, where he recently died, leaving
the heritage of an honored name.

Capt. Edward H. Armstrong, of Hew Hanover: In 1862 this
brilliant student of the University at Chapel Hill was orderly
sergeant of Company G, Third Regiment, Horth Carolina
Troops. Very soon afterwards he was promoted to be second
lieutenant of that company, and went through the Seven Days’
Battle at Richmond, and with his regiment he participated in
the Battle of Sharpsburg with great credit and was made cap-
tain of the company, the captain, E. H. Rhodes, and Lieut.
W. H. Quince, having been killed in that engagement. His
subsequent career was conspicuous at Fredericksburg, Chan-
cellorsville, Gettysburg, and Mine Run, and he met a soldier’s
death at the Horseshoe, Spottsylvania Courthouse, lamented by
his comrades for his modest, beautiful character and for his
soldierly qualities. It was said of him that he wap. fitted to com-
mand a division. During the Gettysburg campaign, his shoes
having worn out, he marched barefoot.

Louis S. Belden ran away as a youth and enlisted at the be-
ginning of the war in Moore’s Battery, Light Artillery, Tenth
Regiment, North Carolina Troops, which was, after Moore’s
promotion to be colonel of the Sixty-sixth Regiment, commanded
by Capt. John Miller. Sergeant Belden remained with the
battery until the end of the war, rendering at all times excellent
service. On his return home, destitute but determined to make
his way, he appeared in a suit of clothes which his sister had
made of bedticking, the only available material, and he was not
long in obtaining honorable employment which led to compara-
tive independence. He still retains, in his advanced years and
impaired health, the esteem and confidence of the community.

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311

Charles P. Belles had been employed on the Coast Survey hy
the United States Government for many years previous to the
war, and was a man of marked ability. In April, 1861, he was
assigned to duty as an engineer, and constructed the first battery
at Confederate Point, called in compliment to him, “Battery
Bolles.” Por a year or more he was employed with the engi-
neers, and then transferred to the Fayetteville Arsenal. His
professional skill was exemplified in the preparation of holts for
Whitworth guns. An English firm presented a battery of Whit-
worth guns to the Confederate Government through Colonel
Lamb at Fort Fisher, by whom they were effectively used at
long range against the hlockaders and for the protection of the
blockade runners. The guns were unfortunately received with-
out ammunition or projectiles, and were worthless until Captain
Bolles devised at the Fayetteville armory the peculiar bolts
which were used as projectiles and for which he had no pattern.
At the arsenal, he was captain of Company A, Sixth Battalion,
Armory Guards.

J. H. Boatwright was one of the “Seed Corn” cadets, of
Charleston, S. C., when the order was issued hy the hard-pressed
Confederacy that hoys under the military age would he per-
mitted to go to the front and do a man’s work. He was offered
a lieutenancy at the age of seventeen, hut his father declared
that he was too young to command, and so he enlisted as a pri-
vate in Company B, Citadel Guards. He saw service at Coosa-
whatchie, and at “Tulafinny,’’ and in one of the engagements
he was struck by a musket ball. His lieutenant, Mr. Coffin,
hearing the bullet strike him, assisted in examining the wound,
which was found to he the mutilation of a small Testament in
young Boatwright’s breast-pocket. The interesting bullet is
still preserved hy his family.

A year or so afterwards he was sent home on sick leave, and
he found Columbia sacked and burned, hut his mother and sister
safe. Governor McGraw sent for him and, informing him that
his secretary had taken fright and departed, offered him the
position, which he promptly accepted. Later, when the Gov-
ernor was arrested by the Federals, his secretary was not re-
garded as of sufficient importance to be placed under guard.
This resulted in his taking charge of all the State archives,
which he placed in an old vault, and he kept them in careful
custody until after the war, when he delivered them to the first
legislature.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Gabriel J. Boney, of Wilmington, enlisted in Company H of
the Fortieth Regiment in March, 1864, at the age of eighteen,
and was on duty until the war was practically ended, com-
pleting his service in a Northern prison. He was in the fight
with the Federal gunboats at Fort Anderson, and at Town
Creek, having been promoted to be corporal, was in command of
twenty men on the line. He was also at Bentonville, where the
North Carolina soldiers made their last demonstration of heroic
valor. Being captured by the enemy, he was transported to
Point Lookout, Md., and confined until June 4, 1865.

Lieut. Alexander Davidson Brown, a native of Scotland,
earnestly supported the cause of the State during the great war,
and for four years wore the Confederate gray. Although he
came to Wilmington as late as 1860, in April, 1861, he enlisted
as a private in the artillery company of Capt. James D. Cum-
ming, known as Battery C, of the Thirteenth Battalion. In this
gallant command he was successively promoted to corporal and
lieutenant. During his military career he participated in the
fighting at New Bern and on the Petersburg lines in numerous
engagements, and took part in the desperate encounters on the
retreat from Petersburg, and at Appomattox Courthouse pre-
vious to the surrender.

Thomas O. Bunting enlisted in the Twentieth North Caro-
lina Infantry in May, 1861, though only about sixteen years of
age, but in J uly following withdrew and entered the University
of North Carolina, where he studied one year. Returning to
the Confederate service, he became a private in Company C, of
the Sixty-third Regiment, or Fifth Cavalry, and shared the sub-
sequent gallant career of this command, taking part in the en-
gagements at White Hall and Goldsboro, in 1862, and then, in
Virginia, under the leadership of Baker, Gordon, Barringer,
Hampton, and Stuart, meeting the enemy on many a field. On
April 3, 1865, at Namozine Church, he was captured by the
Federals, and was confined at Point Lookout until June 28.
Throughout his gallant career he was once seriously wounded,
receiving a shot through the ankle on the Ground Squirrel Road
near Petersburg, which disabled him for three months.

Samuel R. Bunting was captain of Company I, Tenth Regi-
ment of State Troops, Light Artillery, which was organized at
Wilmington in May, 1861. This company served at first as
coast guard at Wrightsville and Masonboro Sounds and in
March, 1862, moved to Kinston and saw active service in that

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313

vicinity; then returned to Fort Fisher. After the fall of Fort
Fisher and the evacuation of Wilmington, the regiment joined
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and fought and surrendered with him.

Bunting’s Battery was engaged for three days at Spring
Bank, and lost nineteen men killed and wounded.

James G. Burr was colonel of the Seventh Regiment, Home
Guards, but did not see actual service in the field.

Thomas Jefferson Capps was a private in Company E, Third
North Carolina Infantry, and was in charge of the field ambu-
lances at the Battle of Chancellorsville when a captain ordered
him to go to the front, which he refused to do because he was
under Dr. McRee’s orders and could not leave his post. Finally,
the officer reluctantly told him that Stonewall Jackson was
wounded and required immediate attention, but he must act
with great secrecy. Mr. Capps then drove down the road under
heavy fire, lifted the general into his ambulance, and brought
him from the field. lie was kept under guard all night in order
to prevent the possibility of conveying the distressing news and
thereby demoralizing the troops.

Robert E. Calder was elected lieutenant of Company B (of
Wilson County), which was part of the Second Regiment, and
served with distinction in this command throughout the war.
He was severely wounded, losing the sight of an eye. Further
mention of Lieutenant Calder is made in Colonel Cantwell’s
narrative of the capture of Fort Caswell.

Lieut. William Calder was born in Wilmington, May 5, 1844.
In 1859 he entered the military academy at Hillsboro, and left
there in May, 1861, having been appointed drillmaster by Gov-
ernor Ellis, and assigned to the camp of instruction at Raleigh.
Upon the organization of the first ten regiments of State Troops,
he was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Third Regiment.
He served as drillmaster at Garysburg about four months, and
was then transferred to the Second Infantry as second lieutenant
of Company K. With this command he participated in the
Seven Days’ Battle about Richmond; and at Malvern Hill
he was wounded in the left thigh, causing a disability that con-
tinued until after the Battle of Sharpsburg. He was in battle
at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and in most of the
engagements of Jackson’s and Ewell’s corps; and during the
three days’ fighting at Gettysburg he was in command of the
sharpshooters of Ramseur’s brigade. On the return to Orange
Courthouse he was appointed adjutant of the First North Caro-

314

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

lina Battalion, Heavy Artillery, and subsequently was on duty
with his command at Fort Caswell, until that post was evacu-
ated. He was in the Battles of Fort Anderson, Town Creek,
and Kinston, and at the Battle of Bentonville he served as act-
ing assistant adjutant general on the staff of Colonel Nethercutt,
commanding the brigade of Junior Reserves. From that time
until the end of hostilities he was with his artillery battalion in
outpost duty on the upper Cape Fear River.

James Carmichael, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church,
Wilmington, was devoted to the Confederate cause during the
great struggle. He was compelled to retire from his studies at
the Alexandria Theological Seminary by the advance of the
invading armies in 1861. In May of that year he was com-
missioned chaplain of the Thirtieth Virginia Infantry, and
was with this command on the field of duty until the spring of
1862, when he was disabled by lung trouble and was sent on
furlough to Greensboro. There he remained, unfit for duty,
until November following, when, at the request of Dr. James L.
Cabell, post surgeon at Danville, he was assigned as post chap-
lain at the latter place. In this capacity he served until July 3,
1865.

Anthony D. Cazaux, a well-known citizen of Wilmington, was
appointed captain and assistant quartermaster of the Eighteenth
Regiment, North Carolina Troops. The Eighteenth Regiment
was of the Branch-Lane brigade, and Captain Cazaux acted
as one of its quartermasters. For many years after the war
Captain Cazaux was actively and prominently engaged in the
business affairs of Wilmington and contributed largely to the
development of its commerce. His genial, kindly nature won
for him many devoted friends.

Columbus L. Chestnutt was appointed assistant quarter-
master of the Thirteenth Battalion, which was organized De-
cember 1, 1863.

John Cowan joined the Wilmington Rifle Guards (afterwards
Company I, Eighteenth Regiment), and took part in the cap-
ture, April 16, 1861, of Fort Caswell by order of Governor
Ellis. After a few months he was promoted to lieutenant of
Company D, Third North Carolina Regiment of Infantry.

He was present at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and vari-
ous other battles, and served through the Gettysburg campaign.
Once, in the absence of Captain VanBokkelen, he was left with
his company to hold a line which had been captured the evening

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315

before, and he defended his position with great tenacity and held
it until he was ordered out. At Spottsylvania he was captured,
along with the entire brigade, and sent to Fort Delaware. Sub-
sequently he was placed under fire at Morris Island, after which
he was returned to Fort Delaware, where he remained until the
end of the war. During all his life Captain Cowan was exceed-
ingly kind to the sailors of this port. He became one of the
trustees of the Seamen’s Friend Society, and never failed to be
present at the Bethel meeting on Sunday afternoons.

The following tribute by a fellow-citizen, on the occasion of a
memorial meeting after his death, illustrates the character of
this highly esteemed Cape Fear gentleman:

“We are called today to add the honored name of John Cowan
to the long roll of the majority, and to pay our tribute of respect
to the memory of one of the few members of our society who was
faithful unto death.

“For years he has sat with us during our Sabbath service,
inspiring us by his devout attention and unswerving loyalty
with more zeal in our sacred cause, and uniting our handful of
supporters in a closer bond of union and sympathy with the
thousands of seafaring men, who, dike ships that pass in the
night and speak each other in passing,’ have heard the friendly
warning voice of our preacher and vanished from our sight. His
beaming face, full of sympathetic courtesy, will be sadly missed
in our assemblies.

“Like the great leader in the wilderness, whose presence re-
flected the glory of his God, he wist not that his face so shone.
That face, so deeply lined of late by weariness and pain, is, I
believe, radiant now in the presence of Him with whom there is
fullness of joy. Buffeted by the storms of life and disabled by
disease and suffering, this sailor’s friend has met his great Pilot
and cast his anchor within the haven of eternal rest.

“His eminent public service as a soldier of the Confederacy
is a part of its history. His native modesty forbade the mention
by him of his heroic deeds, but who of you will forget the valor
of that thin line of twenty-five muskets, the remnant of his
shattered but intrepid command, which held an overwhelming
force in check at Gettysburg ? When he surrendered his sword
at the ‘Bloody Angle,’ he retained that invisible armor for the
good fight of faith from which he has come off more than con-
queror through Him that loved him and gave Himself for him.

“I am requested by our recent chaplain, the Bev. Dr. J ames

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Carmichael, who could not be present with us today, to add his
loving testimony to the work and faith of our dead comrade,
who for many years encouraged and sustained him as a colaborer
at the Bethel service. He mourns with us the loss of one of the
truest friends and supporters whom this society has ever known.”

William A. Cumming joined the famous Third Regiment, the
record of which has been given in several sketches, and, about
a year later, after a fatiguing day’s march, he was exposed all
night to a soaking rain, which brought on an attack of rheuma-
tism. He was sent to the hospital and, deriving no benefit, was
later sent home so emaciated that his father did not at first
recognize him. Later, he returned to the army, but he never
fully recovered his health, and he was given a commission in
the Commissary Department, in which he remained during the
war. He never recovered from the first exposure in the field
and died after the war from rheumatism, which attacked his
heart. He had many warm friends in the Third North Caro-
lina Infantry and in civil life, for he was a kindly, unselfish,
Christian gentleman, of fine presence and old-time urbanity.

Preston Cumming, a survivor of the Cape Fear Artillery,
enlisted in October, 1861, as a private in the artillery company
commanded by his brother, James D. Cumming, and known as
Cumming’s battery. During his service he was promoted to
sergeant, participated in the fighting on the Petersburg lines
several months, and was in the Battles of Washington, Kinston,
and Bentonville, and finally surrendered with Johnston at
Greensboro.

James D. Cumming was second lieutenant of one of the com-
panies that took possession of Fort Johnston and Fort Caswell
at the outbreak of the war. This company was assigned soon
after to the defense of Confederate Point, and in April, 1862,
was reorganized, with Lieutenant Cumming as captain. A bat-
tery of field artillery was provided for it, and it bore the name
of Cumming’s battery. It became part of the Thirteenth Bat-
talion in December, 1863. In May, 1864, a section of it was
ordered to Petersburg, Va., and assigned to Moseley’s battalion
of artillery. The battery, therefore, gave active service to the
Confederacy both in Virginia and in eastern North Carolina.

Roger Cutlar, a brother of DuBrutz Cutlar, served through-
out the war in Moore’s battery. After the war he removed to
California. He was a courageous and gallant soldier.

Champ T. N. Davis : Among the officers of Company G, Six-

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317

teenth Regiment, on its organization June 17, 1861, appears the
name of Capt. C. T. 17. Davis, of Rutherford County. The
Sixteenth was ordered to Virginia soon after its mobilization,
proceeded to Valley Mountain, and assisted in holding the gap
against the Federals under General Rosecrans. Afterwards, it
was attached to Hampton’s legion around Fredericksburg and
Yorktown, where it was reorganized, and Captain Davis elected
its colonel. At the Battle of Seven Pines the regiment was
exposed to a galling lire from several Federal batteries and lost
some of its bravest and best officers and men, among whom was
the gallant Colonel Davis.

Graham Daves was appointed private secretary to Governor
Ellis on January 1, 1859, and held that position until the out-
break of the War between the States. He then joined the army
as first lieutenant of the Twelfth Volunteers, Col. J. Johnston
Pettigrew, afterwards known as the Twenty-second Regiment,
North Carolina Troops, of which he was appointed adjutant,
July 24, 1861. With this regiment he served until April, 1862,
being on duty at different times at Raleigh, Richmond, and
Brooke Station, Va., hut most of the time at Evansport, now
called Quantico, where the regiment was employed in erecting
batteries, which some of the companies occupied and served.
These were the batteries that so long blockaded the Potomac
River at that point. Lieutenant Daves having resigned his
commission on November 16, 1863, was enrolled as a private
and assigned to duty in the conscript office, Raleigh, where he
remained until July, 1864. He served in various other posi-
tions until the surrender of General Johnston’s army to General
Sherman near Greensboro.

Junius Davis, born June 17, 1845, was a son of George Davis
and his first wife, Mary Polk. He was in school at Bingham’s
Institute, in Alamance County, when North Carolina decided to
cast her lot with the Confederate States, and in the spring of
1863, being nearly eighteen years of age, he left his books to
enter the military service. He enlisted as a private in Battery
C, Third Battalion, North Carolina Artillery, Capt. J. G.
Moore, and served until the close of the war. For nearly a year
he was about Petersburg, and was in the Battles of Drewry’s
Bluff and Bermuda Hundred, and of Fort Harrison lines. In
the last day’s fight at Petersburg he was slightly wounded, but
continued on duty during the retreat. The battery being at
first a part of the rear guard was almost constantly engaged and

318

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

was roughly handled ; but later it became a part of the van, and
at the end, Corporal Davis and a small squad escaped without
surrendering. In civil life, Mr. Davis wore well the mantle
of his distinguished father.

After the war he came to the bar and was associated with his
father, and, like him, became recognized as eminent in his pro-
fession and particularly distinguished for his learning in corpo-
ration law and for his admirable management of the affairs of
the corporations entrusted to his care.

In 1853, Mr. George Davis became counsel for the Wilming-
ton and Manchester Railroad and continued as such after that
property was acquired by the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
Later, he was general counsel of the Atlantic Coast Line, his
son, Junius Davis, being associated with him, and when he died
the latter’s professional connection with the company continued.
In time Junius Davis retired from active practice and his son,
Thomas W. Davis, a lawyer of recognized ability, who had been
associated with him, assumed the connection with the company
from which his father resigned. Thus, for more than sixty
years, have Mr. George Davis, his son, and his grandson retained
the position as counsel for this property, a record, as far as
known, without a parallel in the United States.

Besides his admirable work as a lawyer, following further in
the footsteps of his illustrious father, Junius Davis made con-
tributions to historical literature and won a high reputation for
research into local history and as an entertaining and versatile
writer. In particular must he mentioned his masterful address
on Locke’s Fundamental Constitutions and his exhaustive and
conclusive article on John Paul Jones, which has been accepted
as explaining John Paul’s reason for assuming the name of
Jones. On its publication in the South Atlantic Quarterly , Col.
A. M. Waddell, Bishop Robert Strange, Prof. J. G. deRoulhac
Hamilton, Mr. James Sprunt, and others united in the follow-
ing request :

“The undersigned, your fellow-citizens, having read with
great interest and satisfaction your admirable contribution to
North Carolina history, published in the South Atlantic Quar-
terly, and desiring that this unique elucidation of the mystery
of Chevalier Jones’s adopted name be published in pamphlet
form, in order that it may be placed in public libraries and in
private collections for future guidance, most cordially felicitate
you upon its production and request your permission for its
more extended circulation.”

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319

In this article Mr. Davis shows that John Paul, when in need
of friends, found them in Allen and Willie Jones, and that he
assumed the name of Jones because of his association with them.
The Navy Department, in giving chronological data of the life
of John Paul Jones, refers to this fact and to Mr. Davis’ article,
and it may be considered that Mr. Davis has set at rest all
doubts on the subject.1 He was a lovable man. There was a
dignity and charm about Junius Davis by which he came natur-
ally, and he had an old-fashioned felicity of expression that de-
lighted his friends. He loved their companionship and that of
his books, of which he possessed a wonderful store, for his was
indeed a rich and well-stored mind, described by his illustrious
father, and in the recent years of his retirement from the
greater activities of life, it created its own beauty, wealth,
power, and happiness. He had wisdom and insight, and what-
ever subject he touched he illumined. He thought deeply upon
matters pertaining to his legal profession, upon literature and
politics, and upon the current affairs of life, and when he spoke
we felt that he had received a vision of the truth, for truth was
ever his guiding star.

Another old-time Cape Fear gentleman and soldier of the
South has crossed over the river and rests under the shade of
the trees.

“The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust.”

Horatio Davis, a half-brother of Mr. George Davis, served in
the Confederate Army and later became a judge in Virginia,
and finally moved to Florida. He was a brave and fearless
soldier.

Armand L. DeRosset was elected captain of Company B at
the formation of the Sixth Battalion, called the Armory Guards,
which was stationed at the Fayetteville Arsenal and Armory
during the War between the States.

Moses John DeRosset was on duty as surgeon in the hospitals
at Richmond in 1861, and became surgeon of the Fifty-sixth
Regiment on its organization in the summer of 1862. Dr.
DeRosset stood high in his profession, having taken a course in
Europe and being besides an accomplished French and German
scholar.

iNew evidence, more recently discovered, however, again unsettles
the question.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Edward B. Dudley was captain of Company D, Anderson
Artillery, of the Thirty-sixth Regiment. This regiment was
stationed at various points of defense along the Cape Fear. On
November 22, 1864, Captain Dudley was sent with his company
and others under Maj. James M. Stevenson to Georgia to join
the Confederate forces opposing Sherman’s advance to Savan-
nah. Later he returned to Fort Fisher and performed his part
in the epic defense.

Guilford L. Dudley : The First Regiment was organized near
Warrenton in the spring of 1861. G. L. Dudley was appointed
one of the two quartermasters, and was second lieutenant of
Company E, First Regiment. He served with distinction
throughout the Seven Days’ Battle, the South Mountain cam-
paign, and at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, and in other battles. The last volley fired by the
Army of Northern Virginia was fired by North Carolina troops,
and the First Regiment was among the number.

Charles D. Ellis: Shortly after the outbreak of the war the
Legislature of North Carolina, cooperating with the Confed-
erate Government in defending the entrance of the Cape Fear
River and Wilmington, passed an act authorizing the formation
of a battalion of heavy artillery (Ninth Battalion, Heavy Artil-
lery), to be composed of three companies, to man the defenses
constructed for the protection of the harbor and the shores elope
to the Cape Fear Bar.

The second company (Company B) was organized by Capt.
Charles D. Ellis, and its members were mostly from Brunswick,
Duplin, and other counties near New Hanover. Capt. Ellis,
however, resigned October, 1862, and was succeeded by Capt.
Jacob W. Taylor. In 1863, the three companies were organized
into what was known thereafter as the First Battalion of Heavy
Artillery.

Z. Ellis was one of the three lieutenants in Company B,
raised by C. D. Ellis, and he served with this company through-
out the war.

Henry G. Flanner was originally second lieutenant in Com,-
pany F, Thirteenth Battalion. A section of this company served
in the winter of 1863-64 and in the spring of 1864 attached to
MacRae’s (Tenth) battalion in western North Carolina. This
battery, under Capt. H. G. Flanner, was ordered to Virginia in
1862, and served continuously, with the above exception, in
General Lee’s army. It served on the lines around Petersburg

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321

with great credit. It surrendered at Appomattox. Planner’s
battery is entitled to the credit of preventing the Federal Army
from entering Petersburg on the morning of the springing of the
mine (July 29).

Capt. Owen Fennell entered the Confederate service as sec-
ond lieutenant of Company C, First Regiment, under Col. M. S.
Stokes, in June, 1861. The regiment did good service during
- the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond and in the Mary-
land campaign, and Lieutenant Fennell shared its marching and
fighting until just after the Battle of Sharpsburg, when he was
made acting assistant commissary of subsistence, with the rank
of captain. He continued in this service until the office was
abolished after the Gettysburg campaign.

Clayton Giles joined Company I, Sixty-third Georgia Volun-
teers, in 1863, and served in that command throughout the war,
surrendering at Greensboro under Gen. J. E. Johnston.

Norwood Giles enlisted as a youth in Moore’s battery, Light
Artillery, Company E, Tenth Regiment North Carolina Troops,
afterwards (on Moore’s promotion to colonel) commanded by
Capt. John Miller. Endowed by nature with a most genial,
pleasing personality, he endeared himself throughout the war
and for years afterwards to a wide circle of devoted friends.
His untimely death, December 11, 1899, was greatly mourned
in our community, and the following lines of appreciation were
written by one who esteemed him very highly :

“We mourn the death of one in the flower of his manhood
who served so well the purpose of his Creator, and who filled so
completely the hearts of his friends with loving trust and ad-
miration, that the name of Norwood Giles should be inscribed
upon the record of our noblest and best. Who can measure in
this world the quiet influence of a Christian man ? He was the
truth of God impersonated, living and moving among men in
daily deeds of goodness, shining in the image of his Maker, and
quietly fulfilling a great and noble purpose.

“Such was his character. A thousand sympathetic hearts will
pay the tribute of a sigh that he is gone, and many lives will he
the better for his unsullied life, which combined the freedom
and joyousness of a child with the chivalry and strength and
self-control of a Christian gentleman. Endowed with superior
intellectual gifts, his scope of knowledge was varied and exten-
sive. Exact and methodical in all the details of his business,
which he conducted with marked ability and skill, he was also a

322

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

close observer of men and affairs and well informed upon the
important questions of the day.

“He ever found solace and joy in the freedom of country
life. He loved to breathe the clear air of heaven ; the ocean and
its wonders and the marvelous flora of our region were sources
of delight to him, for he found more pleasure in the lilies of the
field and in the shells of the sea than in all the arts of man’s
device. The joyous notes of the mocking-bird, the sighing of
the pines, and the voices of the deep were music to his ear, and
the modest Drosera and Dioncea were to his admiring eyes
among the masterpieces of creation.

“In all the manly sports and healthful pleasures of the sound
he was an ardent and successful leader. His sprightly, generous
nature, his exquisite wit and humor, made him ever welcome in
social life, and his charming pen sketches of the annual regatta,
which were as fresh and breezy as the salt sea air, were always
read with feelings of pleasure and delight.

“The kindly, beaming smile is gone, the joyous laugh is
hushed, and the captain of the winning boat has met his Pilot
on the boundless tide. Sincerity and simplicity went hand in
hand with him, who was to rich and poor, to lowly and exalted,
the same in high-bred courtesy and never-failing kindliness.”

William Henry Green entered the service as a private in the
Branch Artillery, Capt. A. C. Latham, in July, 1862. In the
following year he was detailed as sergeant major of the battalion
of Maj. J. C. Haskell, to which Latham’s battery was attached,
and he served in this capacity during the remainder of the war.
He had an active career as artilleryman, participating in the
famous Battles of Cedar Bun, Second Manassas, Chantilly,
Warrenton Springs, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania,
and Second Cold Harbor, and throughout the siege of Peters-
burg and the retreat to Appomattox, where he was paroled.

Maj. Edward Joseph Hale volunteered as a private in the
Bethel Begiment, of which D. II. Hill was colonel, the day after
Lincoln’s proclamation calling for troops. He was in the first
pitched battle at Big Bethel, June 10, 1861. When that regi-
ment was disbanded, Governor Clark appointed him a second
lieutenant of North Carolina Troops. In 1862 he was ap-
pointed first lieutenant and adjutant and assigned to duty with
the Fifty-sixth North Carolina Begiment, Bansom’s brigade.
He participated in all the engagements of that command in
Virginia and eastern North Carolina, and distinguished himself

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323

for his coolness and bravery. Though little over twenty-one
years of age, General Longstreet recognized his ability and ap-
pointed him judge advocate of the Department of Court-martial.
His ability, fighting record, and general qualifications were
known to Brigadier General Lane, and that officer, after the
death of Capt. George B. Johnston, tendered him the position of
adjutant general of his brigade of veterans in the fall of 1863.
Captain Hale displayed such strong character in the conduct of
his duties that before the close of the terrific campaign of 1864
he was the idol of the troops. His behavior on the battlefield
was extraordinarily cool and courageous. In the Wilderness, at
Spottsylvania, and Turkey Ridge ; in many battles before Peters-
burg, after Grant had crossed to the south side of the James ; at
Deep Bottom, Gravelly Hill, Riddle’s Shop, and Fussell’s Mill;
at Reams Station; in the battles of the 2d of April, 1865, in the
morning, and later at Battery Gregg and Battery 45 ; at Amelia
Courthouse, Farmville, and other engagements on the retreat to
Appomattox, he distinguished himself, fighting with conspicu-
ous gallantry. Hot long before the close of the war a remark-
able tribute was paid to Captain Hale’s bravery and skill. Upon
the petition of the major commanding the Twenty-eighth Horth
Carolina Regiment and all of its officers present, he was recom-
mended by his brigade, division, and corps commanders for the
colonelcy of that regiment because of conspicuous gallantry and
merit. Later, he was appointed major on the staff.

B. Frank Hall served throughout the war as a member of the
Duplin Rifles, or Company A of the Forty-third Regiment,
Horth Carolina Infantry. He entered the service as a private,
but soon rose to the rank of first sergeant. Sergeant Hall was
on duty with his regiment in Daniel’s brigade during the Seven
Days’ Battle before Richmond, was under fire at Malvern Hill,
and afterwards at Drewry’s Bluff and Suffolk, and from Decem-
ber, 1862, to June, 1863, he was on duty in Horth Carolina,
participating in the affair at Deep Gulley. He took part in the
terrific fight of July 1 at Seminary Ridge and the next two days
of the Battle of Gettysburg, and in the affair at Hagerstown,
on the retreat from Pennsylvania. Subsequently being attached
to Hoke’s brigade, he served in Horth Carolina at the Battle of
Bachelor’s Creek, the siege and capture of Plymouth, and the
skirmishes before Hew Bern. Returning thence to Virginia, he
participated in the battles at Hanover Junction and Bethesda
Church; and on March 25, 1865, he took part in the assault

324

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

upon the Federal works at Hare’s -Hill. On the morning of
April 2, prior to the evacuation of Petersburg, he was in com-
mand of a squad of twelve men, which, with a similar squad
from the Forty-fifth, entered Fort Mahone, then in the hands
of the enemy, capturing 100 prisoners, and he aided effectively
in the gallant fighting which forced the Federals from the lines.
During the retreat, Sergeant Hall was in the battle at. Sailor’s
Creek; and at Appomattox, Sunday morning, he joined in the
last assault upon the enemy.

Dr. William White Harriss was horn in 1824, and was grad-
uated from the University of North Carolina in 1842. He
entered the Confederate service as surgeon of the Sixty-first
Regiment, North Carolina Volunteers, and was on duty chiefly
around Charleston until 1863, when General Whiting appointed
him surgeon of the City Garrison at Wilmington, where he re-
mained until the surrender. When Wilmington was evacuated
he was appointed by General Bragg to remain there as surgeon
to take care of the sick and wounded Confederate soldiers.

Maj. Gabriel H. Hill, son of Dr. John Hill, of Kendal, ap-
pointed a lieutenant in the United States Army in 1855, came
home and served with high distinction at the Battle of Roanoke
Island, and afterwards across the Mississippi. He was a very
fine officer. After the war he lived in Virginia.

Lieut. John Hampden Hill enlisted early in the winter of
1863, at Smithville, in Company H, Fortieth Regiment, and
was commissioned second lieutenant by Governor Vance. He
was with his command at Fort Anderson during the bombard-
ment, and in the Battles of Town Creek, Wilmington, North-
east River, Wise’s Fork, Kinston, and Bentonville, receiving a
wound in the left leg in the last battle.

Thomas Hill, M.D., entered the Confederate service in April,

1861. He was commissioned assistant surgeon, Confederate
States Army, in July, 1861, and from that date until March,

1862, was in charge of the general hospital at Fredericksburg,
Va. Subsequently he was in charge of the general hospital at
Goldsboro until May, 1862, when he was promoted to surgeon
in the Confederate Army and appointed to the presidency of
the medical examining hoard at Raleigh; he was also put in
charge of General Hospital No. 8, at Raleigh, the building now
known as Peace Institute. Remaining there until April, 1864,
he was then assigned as surgeon to the Fortieth Regiment,
North Carolina Troops, and in December following was ap-

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325

pointed chief surgeon of the North Carolina Reserves, on the
staff of General Holmes. After this distinguished career, which
was brought to a close by the surrender at Greensboro, he
resumed the practice of his profession.

In April, 1861, Lieut. George W. Huggins was mustered into
military service as a private in the Wilmington Rifle Guards,
which was later assigned as Company I to the Eighth (Eigh-
teenth) North Carolina Regiment, one of the volunteer regi-
ments of the State first organized. Private Huggins was pro-
moted to first corporal in September, 1861, and to second
lieutenant in April, 1862. With his regiment, in the Army of
Northern Virginia, he took part in the following battles : Han-
over Courthouse, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Fraser’s Farm,
and Malvern Hill. At the close of the bloody Seven Days’
Battles around Richmond, at Harrison’s Landing, he received a
severe wound in the foot, which disabled him until July, 1863.
He then returned to his regiment in Virginia, but was detailed
for duty in the Quartermaster’s Department at Wilmington,
where he remained until the city was evacuated, when he made
his way to Johnston’s army and was paroled with it at Greens-
boro.

James B. Huggins was second lieutenant of Company G,
Thirteenth Battalion, and was later assigned to service in the
Quartermaster’s and Paymaster’s Departments, with the rank
of captain.

John Christopher James entered the Confederate service in
1863, at the age of sixteen, in Company B, Third Junior Re-
serves, afterwards the Seventy-second Regiment, North Carolina
Troops, Colonel Hinsdale commanding. He was made orderly
sergeant of Company D, under Captain Kerr, and later commis-
sioned third lieutenant, and served in the first bombardment of
Fort Fisher, in the engagement at Kinston (Hoke’s division),
and also at the Battle of Bentonville. He surrendered with
General Johnston’s army at Bush Hill, April 26, 1865, and was
paroled with his regiment, May 2, 1865.

He possessed in common with his brother Theodore, to whom
eloquent reference was made in the sketch of the Third Regi-
ment by Capt. John Cowan and Capt. James I. Metts, a most
attractive personality; and in his devoted, useful life were
blended the finest characteristics of the old-time Southern gen-
tleman. Beloved by all who knew him, his memory still lives
in the hearts of his friends.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Theodore C. James was an adjutant in the Third Regiment.
In writing of him Captain Cowan and Captain Metts say:
“Adjutant Theodore C. James has also crossed the narrow
stream of death. Our pen falters when we attempt to pay
tribute to his memory; companion of our youth, friend of our
manhood. For him to espouse a cause was to make it a part of
his very self. Intrepid, no more courageous soldier trod the
soil of any battlefield upon which the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia encountered a foe. The impulses of his nature were mag-
nanimous; no groveling thoughts unbalanced the equity of his
judgment. True to his friends and to principle, he remained as

‘Constant as the Northern Star

Of whose true, fixt, and resting quality

There is no fellow in the firmament.’

Leaving his right arm upon a battlefield in Virginia, and exempt
for that cause from further military duty, he disdained any
privilege which such disability brought to him, and continued
in active service until the last shot had been fired, ‘arms stacked’
forever.”

Stephen Jewett, when sixteen years of age, joined Ripley’s
brigade, Forty-fourth Georgia Regiment of Infantry, near Rich-
mond, July 1, 1862, just after the Seven Days’ Battle; and he
served with that regiment until May 10, 1864, never missing a
day’s service, skirmish, or battle in which his regiment partici-
pated. He was in the engagements at South Mountain, Sharps-
burg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Warrenton Springs,
Morton’s Ford, the Wilderness, Gettysburg, and Spottsylvania,
where he was captured, May 10, 1864, and taken to Fort Dela-
ware. He remained a prisoner of war until March 10, 1865,
when he was sent back to Richmond on parole, and was on parole
furlough when the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia
ended the war. He entered the army as a private when he could
scarcely carry a musket, and he continued to serve throughout
the war in that capacity with ever increasing efficiency. Stead-
fastness, tenacity of purpose, cheerfulness in devotion to duty, a
high sense of integrity, have marked his career from boyhood to
comparatively old age.

J. Pembroke Jones, a prominent officer in the United States
Navy, resigned his commission and joined the Confederate
Navy. Fie was first lieutenant commanding on the iron-
clad sloop-of-war Raleigh, which carried four guns, and which
attacked and broke the Cape Fear blockade. He served with

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327

distinction in several departments of the Confederate Navy, and
after the war was employed by the Argentine Republic upon
important military defenses.

James G. Kenan: “Man must endure his going hence even
as his coming hither, ripeness is all.”

On the 9th of January, 1912, James G. Kenan went, as must
all mortal men, back upon the pathway by which he came — back
to the great unknown. His sun went down after it reached the
zenith and began receding toward the west. When it set be-
yond our vision, darkness fell upon thousands of devoted and
admiring friends, and many hearts were sad.

Some men flower early; others late. Captain Kenan was a
noted man in early life, and was at his best when the final sum-
mons came. When he passed away he left an enviable record
as a soldier, public official, and private citizen, and the work he
did will grow brighter and brighter as the years pass until
it becomes his lasting monument, more enduring than marble
and brass and forever sacred in the hearts of his grateful coun-
trymen. His deeds of kindness, of charity, and of generosity
will ever keep alive his memory and frequently call to recollec-
tion the glory of his name.

Captain Kenan was a true man, a lover of justice, a believer
in the supremacy of the law, a friend of every cause that lacked
assistance. In his views he was broad and liberal, had charity
for all, trusted the people, and never lost faith in humanity.

He was a fine type of the Southern gentleman of the old
school, being the descendant of a long line of Southern ancestry ;
but still he was a plain, simple man, who loved his fellow-man,
a friend of the toiler and an eloquent advocate of the oppressed.
He had faith in his Creator sufficiently abiding to illumine his
soul when he reached the river which all of us must some day
cross. Not given to loud professions or vain boastings of a
religious experience, yet deep down in his heart was a well of
love and trust which was constant in its flow towards the Saviour
of mankind. During all his life he exemplified the human side
of religion by doing what he believed to be right. In this respect
his faith was fixed. His purposes were strong. His constant
effort was to lift all persons with whom he associated to higher
conceptions of life and duty.

His personal character was as spotless as a maiden’s, and as
unsullied as a ray of light. The memory of his just, virtuous,
and upright life will linger in the minds of all who knew him.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Upon the occasion of his death the Janies G. Kenan Chapter,
Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Confederate Veterans
of Warsaw, in convention assembled, passed the following reso-
lutions :

1st. That by the death of Captain Kenan, the chapter of the Daugh-
ters which hears his name has lost a devoted friend and counselor; the
Confederate Veterans, a noble comrade and an ever-ready champion of
the cause which they so nobly espoused, and his bereaved family, a
devoted husband and loving father.

2d. That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of
the Daughters, a copy be sent the family, and a copy to each county
paper, and one to some State paper.

Captain Kenan was the last of a family of three sons and a
daughter of the late Owen R. Kenan and was born near Kenans-
ville, of Scotch-Irish parentage, being descended from Thomas
Kenan, who settled in Duplin County about one hundred and
seventy-five years ago. The family has been for years one of
the most prominent in the State of Horth Carolina.

He served the county of Duplin several terms as sheriff and
enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens in every
walk of life. At the outbreak of the war, with his distinguished
brothers, William Rand Kenan and Thomas S. Kenan, he early
enlisted in the cause of the Confederacy, and was captain of a
company in the Forty-third Regiment, Horth Carolina Troops,
Confederate States Army. He was captured at Gettysburg and
confined later in a Federal prison. He was a gallant soldier
and numbered among his comrades many of the veterans of the
war throughout Eastern Carolina.

Captain Kenan was about seventy-two years old. He is sur-
vived by his wife, three sons, and one daughter, his children
being Dr. Owen Kenan of Hew York, resident physician for the
season at the chain of Palm Beach hotels, Mr. Thomas S. Kenan,
of Atlanta, Graham Kenan, Esq., of the law firm of Kenan &
Stacy, in Wilmington, and Miss Emily Kenan, of Kenansville.

Thomas S. Kenan: In 1735, when Henry McCulloh and a
number of Irish gentlemen obtained from the King grants in the
province of Carolina for more than one million acres of land,
several large tracts were laid off for them in upper Hew Han-
over, now embraced in Duplin and Sampson Counties, in which
settlers from the north of Ireland located, among them Colonel
Sampson and Thomas Kenan. From that day the Kenan family
has remained in the settlement, or near to it, where their ances-

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tors in America first located. “A race of gentlemen/’ writes
Captain Ashe in his Biographical History of North Carolina,
“ever observant of their obligations, they have always been held
in high esteem and have taken a prominent part in regard to all
great questions that have concerned the public welfare.” The
Kenan family came from Scotland to Ireland in 1700; thence
to the Cape Fear in 1735; and in the succeeding generation
James Kenan was a zealous, daring, and brilliant patriot officer
during the War of Independence. His son, Thomas, after serv-
ing in the General Assembly, was a member of the United States
Congress from 1805 to 1811, and his grandson, Owen R. Kenan,
the father of Col. Thomas Stephen Kenan, also served several
terms in the General Assembly and was a member of the Con-
federate Congress.

Thomas Stephen Kenan obtained his early education at the old
Grove Academy, of Kenansville, under the venerated Rev. James
Menzies Sprunt. This was an institution that educated many
of the brightest young men of the Cape Fear section. He was
afterwards at the Central Military Institute in Selma, Alabama,
and later entered Wake Forest College. In 1857 he was gradu-
ated from the University of Korth Carolina with the degree of
A.B., and the next year the University conferred upon him the
degree of A.M. Having determined to become a lawyer, he
spent two years studying with Chief Justice Pearson, at Rich-
mond Hill, and entered upon the practice of law at Kenansville
in 1860. In 1859 the Duplin Rifles was organized in Kenans-
ville, and in 1861 this company volunteered under Thomas
Stephen Kenan as its captain, and was assigned to the First,
or Bethel, Regiment, and afterwards to the Second Regiment.
At the end of the year, it was reorganized and assigned to the
Forty- third Regiment, and Colonel Kenan was made lieutenant
colonel, on April 24, 1862, becoming colonel. His regiment was
assigned to Daniel’s brigade and was engaged in the operations
before Richmond, Colonel Kenan winning high laurels. The
next year, as a part of Rhodes’s division, the Forty-third under
Colonel Kenan carried the flag to Carlisle, Pa. Returning to
Gettysburg on the first of July, Colonel Kenan was in the hard
fight on Seminary Ridge that day and was under fire all the
next day, his regiment supporting a battery of artillery on
Seminary Ridge, and on the third day he participated in the
desperate assault on Culp’s Hill. While leading a charge, he
fell severely wounded, and, while being borne to the rear in an

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ambulance train the next day, he was captured. He was con-
fined on Johnson’s Island, a prisoner of war, until March,
1865, when he was paroled, together with a number of other
prisoners, but he was never exchanged.

The war over, he returned to Kenansville to the practice of
law and served in the Legislature of 1865-66 and 1866-67, and
his wisdom was shown in those sessions of the General Assembly,
made up of the best men in the State, who sought patriotically
to conform the laws of the State to the changed conditions that
resulted from the war. Of course when Reconstruction came
on he was retired to private life, but then, as during the war,
he was regarded as the natural leader of his people. In 1868
he led the party fight as the Democratic candidate for Congress
in his district.

In 1869 he moved to Wilson to practice his profession, and
shortly afterwards he became mayor of the town and the most
progressive citizen of that growing community. To this day
the people of Wilson point with pride to the fact that he was
the first mayor to introduce progressive measures, to light the
town, to improve the streets, and to make it what he always
loved to think it, “the village beautiful.”

In 1876, in the great campaign led by Vance for governor,
the campaign that redeemed North Carolina, the Democrats
put up a ticket of superior men. “There were giants in those
days.” The ticket made up of Vance and Jarvis and Kenan
and Saunders and Worth and Love and Scarborough represented
the brains and chivalry and sterling worth of the State, and the
character of those men had much to do with the victory that
was won in the election. Vance, of course, towered above all,
but none of that great combination stood higher in all the vir-
tues of noble manhood than Thomas Stephen Kenan. When he
was elected attorney general, he measured up to the duties of
that great office and broadened and deepened the respect of the
people of the State, which had been given him in full meas-
ure in every community in which he had lived and in every
station to which he had been called. For eight years he was
attorney general, and upon the conclusion of this period re-
turned to Wilson to the practice of his profession. But in
February, 1886, Colonel Kenan was selected by the Supreme
Court as clerk of that court. He was learned and wise enough
to preside over the court itself. He made a distinguished and
faithful official. Conscientious in the highest degree, faithful

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331

in the smaller as well as the greater duties, a master of detail,
he let nothing come between him and public duty, and he set
an example of official conduct worthy of lasting emulation.

In 1904 he was elected president of the State Bar Association,
and his address upon that occasion contained words of wisdom
as the result of long experience and wide observation. He held
the highest ideals of his profession, and by precept and example
sought to inspire a devotion to the highest ethics in its practice.

Colonel Kenan was a trustee of the University College of
Medicine, at Richmond, Va., took deep interest in the organiza-
tion of the Oxford Orphan Asylum, of which he was a director,
and held the highest offices in the gift of the Masonic Order, of
which he became a member in early life.

On the 20th of May, 1866, Colonel Kenan married Miss
Sallie Dortch, a daughter of the late Dr. Lewis Dortch, of
Edgecombe County, and their home was ever the center of a
delightful social life illustrative of the best hospitality and hap-
piness of the South. Having no children of their own, the
home of Colonel and Mrs. Kenan was the home of their nieces
and nephews, to whom Colonel Kenan maintained a fatherly
relationship that was most beautiful and endeared him to them
as if he had been in truth their father. His niece, Mrs. Henry
M. Flagler, during childhood and young womanhood was always
in his home, and was to him as a daughter.

Colonel Kenan was the oldest of five children, the sons of
Owen Rand Kenan and Sarah Graham. He was born February
12, 1838, and was nearly 13 years old at the time of his death.

From the day he graduated at Chapel Hill in 1851 the master
passion of his life, outside his own family, was his love for the
University of Forth Carolina. He was one of those who led in
the reopening of the University in 1815, after its doors had
been closed under Reconstruction, and he was one of its trustees
thirty years or more. Fever when in health did he miss attend-
ing a meeting of the trustees of the University or a commence-
ment at Chapel Hill. For many years he was a member of the
Executive Board. For nearly a quarter of a century he was
also the president of the Alumni Association and looked forward
to its annual meetings with joy and delight. Except Dr. Kemp
P. Battle, no one in the State did as much for the University
as Colonel Kenan.

Knowing for months that the end was near, Colonel Kenan
not long before his death selected in Oakwood Cemetery, in

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Raleigh, the city in which he lived over twenty-five years, a lot
in which he wished to he buried. It is as near as he could
secure it to the Confederate Cemetery, where his comrades
sleep in honored, though some in unknown, graves.

Capt. William Rand Kenan enlisted as a private in the
Forty-third Regiment in November, 1863, while attending the
University of North Carolina. He was at once detailed as
sergeant major. In May and June, 1864, he was acting adju-
tant of his regiment, and after that, on account of his gallantry
at the Battle of Bethesda Church, he was ordered by General
Grimes to take command of the sharpshooters from his regiment,
with the rank of lieutenant. While serving in this capacity,
he was shot through the body in the fight at Charles Town,
in the Shenandoah Valley, August 22, 1864, which compelled
him to remain at home sixty days. On recovery, he was as-
signed to the command of Company E, Forty- third Regiment,
by Colonel Winston, who sent in an application for his promo-
tion to second lieutenant on account of distinguished gallantry.
This bore the warm endorsement of General Grimes and was
approved by General Early. After three weeks service in com-
mand of Company E, he was appointed adjutant of the regi-
ment, the rank which he held to the close of hostilities.
Among the battles and skirmishes in which he was engaged were
the following: Plymouth, Drewry’s Bluff, Bethesda Church,
Gaines’s Mill, Cold Harbor, Harper’s Ferry, Monocacy, Wash-
ington, D. C., Snicker’s Ford, Kernstown, Winchester, Hare’s
Hill, Petersburg, Sailor’s Creek, Farmville, and Appomattox
Courthouse.

George W. Kidder was a lieutenant in Company A, First
North Carolina Battalion, until he resigned in 1862 or 1863.

Charles Humphrey King entered service in the Wilmington
Rifle Guards, in April, 1861, serving in the occupation of Fort
Caswell. This company was assigned to the Eighth Regiment,
North Carolina Infantry, and he continued with it, earning
promotion to corporal and fourth sergeant, until June, 1862,
when the period of enlistment expired. He then became a
private trooper in the Scotland Neck Rifles; and eight or ten
months later he was transferred to the Sixty-first Regiment,
North Carolina Infantry, as quartermaster sergeant. He was
on duty with this command until the surrender of Johnston’s
army.

Lieut. William Emmett Kyle enlisted at the first call to serv-

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333

ice in the famous First Regiment of Volunteers, under Col.
D. H. Hill, and shared the service of that command at Big
Bethel. After the disbandment of that regiment, he entered the
Fifty-second Regiment of State Troops, and was commissioned
lieutenant of Company B. With this regiment, in Pettigrew’s
brigade, he fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, at
Franklin, Hanover Junction, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Falling
Waters, Bristow Station, Culpeper, Mine Run, the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Drewry’s
Bluff, Hatcher’s Run, Southerland’s Station, Reams Station,
Amelia Courthouse, and F armville, and he surrendered at Appo-
mattox, April 9, 1865. Lieutenant Kyle was wounded three
times — at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania Courthouse, and Peters-
burg— in the head, hip, and leg, and was taken prisoner at
Petersburg, but managed to escape a few hours later. At the
time of the surrender at Appomattox he was in command of the
sharpshooters of MacRae’s brigade.

Col. William Lamb came to Wilmington with General Ander-
son, and at first was quartermaster. His great efficiency caused
him to be elected colonel of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, which
was formed of ten artillery companies for local defense. On
July 4, 1862, he was assigned to the command of Confederate
Point, succeeding Major Hedrick. He advanced the construc-
tion of Fort Fisher, greatly enlarging and strengthening the
works and making it, by 1865, one of the strongest fortifications
in the world. In particular he constructed the Mound Battery,
of a great height, commanding the inlet and intended to protect
the blockade runners and to keep the port open, both of these
objects being successfully accomplished. He was at every point
a most efficient officer, and his defense when the fort was as-
saulted in 1865 was heroic.

As a man Colonel Lamb was of the most attractive personal-
ity. A comrade says of him : “Lamb was one of the most lov-
able men in existence, a fine, dashing young Confederate offi-
cer.” After the war he returned to Norfolk, where he lived
for many years an active, useful life.

John R. Latta was adjutant of the Fifty-first North Caro-
lina Regiment, organized at Wilmington, April 13, 1862.
About December 1, this regiment was on picket duty near New
Bern, and was under fire for the first time near Goldsboro on
December 17.

In February, 1863, the Fifty-first Regiment proceeded to

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Charleston, thence to Savannah, and later camped on James
Island, returning to Wilmington on May 1, along with the
other regiments of Clingman’s brigade. About July 1, the regi-
ment was sent to Morris Island as a part of the garrison for
Battery Wagner. Remaining at Charleston until November
24, it returned to North Carolina, and was stationed at Foster’s
Mill in Martin County. On January 5, 1864, the regiment
went to Petersburg, but later in the month it returned to North
Carolina, and engaged in a sharp skirmish at Bachelor’s Creek,
driving the enemy into New Bern. On May 12, the Fifty-first
marched to Drewry’s Bluff, and on the 18th and 19th to Cold
Harbor, where on J une 1 the Battle of Cold Harbor was fought.

From August 19 to December 24, the Fifty-first Regiment
was engaged in meeting a raiding party operating on the Wil-
mington and Weldon Railroad, and in assaulting Fort Harri-
son; after which it proceeded to North Carolina, where it was
needed on account of Butler’s threatening Fort Fisher. After
the fall of Fort Fisher, the regiment went to Kinston, where it
engaged in three days’ fighting, March 7, 8, and 9, 1865. The
advance of the enemy from Wilmington and the near approach
of Sherman’s army from Fayetteville caused it to proceed to
Bentonville, where the Confederate forces met and checked
Sherman. The regiment surrendered with Johnston’s army at
Bush Hill, and was paroled May 2, 1865. Adjutant Latta was
with the regiment from the beginning to the end, without once
returning home, having participated in the campaigns men-
tioned above.

Lewis Leon, a well known resident of Wilmington and a
veteran of the Confederate States service, was born in Mecklen-
burg, Germany, November 27, 1841. Three years later he was
brought by his parents to New York City, whence he moved to
Charlotte in 1858, and engaged in mercantile pursuits as a
clerk. Becoming a member of the Charlotte Grays, he entered
the active service of that command, going to the camp of in-
struction at Raleigh on April 21, 1861. The Grays were as-
signed to Col. D. H. Hill’s regiment, the First, as Company
C, and took part in the Battle of Big Bethel, in which Private
Leon was a participant. At the expiration of the six months’
enlistment of the Bethel Regiment, he reenlisted in Company
B, Capt. Harvey White, of the Fifty-first Regiment, commanded
by Col. William Owen. He shared the service of this regiment
in its subsequent honorable career, fighting at Gettysburg, Bris-

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335

tow Station, Mine Run, and the Wilderness, receiving a slight
wound at Gettysburg, but not allowing it to interfere with his
duty. During the larger part of his service he was a sharp-
shooter.

On the 5th or 6th of May, 1864, the sharpshooters of his
regiment were much annoyed by one of the Federal sharp-
shooters who had a long-range rifle and who had climbed up a
tall tree, from which he could pick off the men, though sheltered
by stumps and stones, himself out of range of their guns. Pri-
vate Leon concluded that “this thing had to be stopped/7 and
taking advantage of every knoll, hollow, and stump, he crawled
near enough for his rifle to reach, and took a “pop77 at this dis-
turber of the peace, who came tumbling down. Upon running
up to his victim, Leon discovered him to be a Canadian Indian,
and clutching his scalp lock, he dragged him back to the Con-
federate line.

At the Battle of the Wilderness he was captured, and from
that time until June, 1865, he was a prisoner of war at Point
Lookout and Elmira, N. Y. Upon being paroled he visited his
parents in New York City, and then worked his way back to
North Carolina. He is warmly regarded by his comrades of
Cape Fear Camp, U. C. V., and has served several terms as its
adjutant. When Col. James T. Morehead prepared a sketch
of his regiment, the Fifty-third, Private Leon furnished him
with a copy of a diary which he had kept from the organization
of the regiment up to the 5th of May, 1864, when he was
captured.

Richard F. Langdon was one of the second lieutenants of
Company E (New Hanover County), First Regiment North
Carolina Troops, and was subsequently appointed captain and
quartermaster of the Third North Carolina Infantry.

Capt. Thomas C. Lewis became a member of the Wilmington
Rifle Guards and went on duty with that organization early in
the conflict. When it became Company I of the Eighth Regi-
ment he was appointed a sergeant, and after the reenlistment
in 1862 he served as quartermaster sergeant until the Battle of
Second Manassas, when he became second lieutenant of his
company. At this battle he received a severe wound in the hip
which disabled him for half a year. Upon rejoining his com-
mand he was promoted to be captain. He served with his
company until he was captured in the disaster to Johnston7s
division at Spottsylvania Courthouse. He was confined at Fort

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Delaware and shared the hitter experience of the 600 officers
held under fire at Morris Island. He was not released until
June, 1865. It is much to the credit of Captain Lewis’ mem-
ory, that, although efforts were made by his Northern kinsmen
to induce him to take the oath of allegiance while he was a
prisoner at Fort Delaware, he manfully refused and remained
a prisoner of war until the final surrender.

Capt. J. W. Lippitt was captain of Company G, Fifty-first
Regiment, North Carolina Troops, and commanded the regi-
ment at the surrender at Bush Hill.

Maj. Charles W. McClammy joined a cavalry company com-
manded by Captain Newkirk at the beginning of hostilities in
1861, and was elected lieutenant of this organization. This
company did good service in eastern North Carolina, among its
achievements being the capture of a gunboat of the enemy which
had grounded in New River in Onslow County. Upon the
resignation of Captain Newkirk, Lieutenant McClammy was
promoted to the captaincy. His subsequent gallant career is
well described in the following extract from an address deliv-
ered by Colonel Moore: “From the time he gave his services

to his State and country, he was all enthusiasm and dash, and
never lost an opportunity to do his best. In nearly every fight
in which our regiment was engaged he was present in glorious
service. His services were so meritorious that Colonel Baker,
before his capture, spoke of wanting to promote him. When he
was promoted, he was the ninth captain in rank and one of the
youngest, if not the very youngest. He was complimented in
general orders for gallant services in battles on the White Oak
and Charles City Road.”

During the Holden-Kirk War, in 1870, favored by the local
factions and divisions of the dominant Republicans, Major
McClammy and Capt. Samuel A. Ashe were elected to the
Assembly, and became leaders in the important work of that
body, remedying many of the excesses of the Reconstruction
period, impeaching and deposing the Governor, pacifying the
State, and measurably unifying the discordant elements of the
white people of the State. Many years then elapsed before New
Hanover had another Democratic representative in the Assem-
bly. Later, Major McClammy represented the Cape Fear dis-
trict in the Congress of the United States.

William Dougald McMillan enlisted in the spring of 1861,
at the age of sixteen years, in the Topsail Rifles, with which he

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337

served one year on the coast. In the spring of 1862 he became
a member of Rankin’s heavy artillery ; but, after a few months’
service, he provided a substitute for that command and volun-
teered as a private in the Fifty-first Regiment of Infantry, in
which he served in 1863 as sergeant major, and during 1864-65,
while able for duty, as acting adjutant. His regiment was at-
tached to Clingman’s brigade and did gallant service in North
Carolina and Virginia. He shared its fortunes in battle at
Plymouth, Bermuda Hundred, Drewry’s Bluff, Cold Harbor,
Port Walthall Junction, in the trenches at Petersburg and the
fighting on the Weldon Railroad, and at Fort Harrison and
the Crater. He was slightly wounded at Hrewry’s Bluff, Sec-
ond Cold Harbor, Bermuda Hundred, and Petersburg, and
seriously at Fort Harrison. He was last in battle in the de-
fense of Fort Fisher. He surrendered at High Point in the
spring of 1865.

Alexander MacRae: Shortly after the outbreak of the war

in 1861, the Legislature of North Carolina, cooperating with
the Confederate Government in defending the entrance to the
Cape Fear River, passed an act authorizing the formation of a
battalion of heavy artillery, to he composed of three companies.
One of the companies was raised by Capt. Alexander MacRae,
of Wilmington. Captain MacRae had been president of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Company, and was then well
advanced in age. Captain MacRae’s company was on duty at
Fort Anderson and at Fort Fisher. In 1863, four companies
were organized into a battalion, with Alexander MacRae as
major, the companies being known as Companies A, B, C, and
H, of the First Battalion of Heavy Artillery. This, with the
Thirty-sixth and Fortieth Regiments, and attached companies,
formed Hebert’s brigade. After participating in the defense
of the Lower Cape Fear, this brigade returned to Goldsboro
and fought at Bentonville. Major MacRae was paroled in May,
1865.

Henry MacRae: The Eighth Regiment, North Carolina

State Troops, was organized at Camp Macon, near Warrenton,
N. C., in August and September, 1861, and Henry MacRae
was commissioned captain of Company C. Captain MacRae
died while in service.

Capt. Walter G. MacRae, a gallant North Carolina soldier,
was born in Wilmington, January 27, 1841. He was educated
in New England, entering a private school in Boston in 1856,
22

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and was graduated from the English High School in that city
in 1860, receiving the Franklin medal. He then studied law at
the Harvard Law School until the outbreak of hostilities in
1861, when he returned home to fight for his State. Joining
the Eighth North Carolina, he accompanied it to South Caro-
lina, and a few months later was transferred to the heavy artil-
lery and stationed at Fort Fisher. Subsequently he became a
member of McNeill’s Partisan Rangers and, after an adventur-
ous career of thirteen months with that command, joined Com-
pany C of the Seventh North Carolina Infantry, with a commis-
sion as lieutenant. From that time he was in command of his
company, with promotion to captain after the Battle of Gettys-
burg. Among the engagements in which he participated were
the encounters at Thompson’s Bridge, on the Neuse River, the
skirmish near Pollocksville, and the Battle of Chancellorsville,
where he was slightly wounded in the right thigh. Afterwards,
he was in command of three companies of skirmishers during
the fighting on the Rappahannock River. At Gettysburg he was
in battle three days, and on the evening of the third day received
a severe wound in the left thigh. While being carried to Rich-
mond he was sick three weeks with fever at Newton, Va., and
on reaching the Confederate Capital he was granted a furlough
for forty days. In May, 1864, he participated in the death
grapple of the armies in the Wilderness and had the misfortune
to be captured. He was held at Fort Delaware, and in the
following August was one of the 600 officers placed under fire
at Morris Island, thence being returned to Fort Delaware and
held until the close of hostilities.

Gen. William MacRae was a man of commanding gifts, but
very strong prejudices. The severity of his discipline in his
regiment was universally known. He was elected lieutenant
colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment, and afterwards, on June 22,
1864, was appointed brigadier general and assigned to the com-
mand of Kirkland’s brigade. An officer of the regiment speak-
ing of General MacRae, said : aGeneral MacRae soon won the
confidence and admiration of the brigade, both officers and men.
His voice was like that of a woman ; he was small in person and
quick in action. History has never done him justice. He could
place his command in position quicker and infuse more of his
fighting qualities into his men than any other officer I ever
saw. His presence with his troops seemed to dispel all fear
and to inspire every one with a desire for the fray. The brigade

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339

remained under his command until the surrender. General
MacRae, on being assigned to the brigade, changed the physical
expression of the whole command in less than two weeks, and
gave the men infinite faith in him and in themselves which was
never lost, not even when they grounded arms at Appomattox.”

General MacRae distinguished himself in the Battle of Reams
Station, August 25, when with a small force he captured sev-
eral flags and cannon, killed a large number of the enemy, and
took 2,100 prisoners. He was one of the best of Lee’s brigadiers
and won a most enviable reputation.

Capt. Robert B. MacRae was captain of Company C (Hew
Hanover County), Seventh Regiment, and was wounded in the
Battle of Hanover Courthouse, May 27, 1862. Colonel Hay-
wood was wounded in the Battle of Second Manassas, and Cap-
tain MacRae took command of the regiment, and right gallantly
did he discharge the duties imposed upon him. In this battle
he was severely wounded. Later, he was promoted to be major
of the regiment.

MacRae’s battalion, commanded by Maj. James C. MacRae,
was better known as the Eighteenth Battalion. It was organized
in the summer and fall of 1863 for the protection of the counties
of western Horth Carolina against the bushwhackers and parti-
san leaders. Ho general engagement between the whole force
and the enemy ever occurred, but there were frequent encounters
between the detached companies and parties of bushwhackers
who infested the mountains. There were many stirring adven-
tures and brave and venturesome acts by these men, whose his-
tory ought to have been better preserved.

Capt. Robert M. Mclntire, of Rocky Point, raised a cavalry
company in the spring of 1862, afterwards known as Company
C, Fourth Regiment of Cavalry. He furnished sabres, saddles,
and twelve horses, and he was elected first lieutenant, while his
uncle, Dr. Andrew Mclntire, became captain. In September,
1863, Lieutenant Mclntire was promoted to be captain of his
company.

The service of Company C was first near Suffolk, Va., and
then in eastern Horth Carolina. It was a part of the force that
in December, 1862, repelled Foster’s army, which threatened to
capture Goldsboro, and pursued it until the Federal column
found shelter in Hew Bern. Some months later the regiment
was ordered to Virginia and, along with the Fifth Horth Caro-
lina Cavalry, formed Robertson’s cavalry brigade, which was a

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

part of the great cavalry division under the command of that
brilliant and dashing leader, Gen. J. E. B. Stuart.

Company C shared all the vicissitudes and endured all the
hardships of the Gettysburg campaign. Its history is a part of
the history of the regiment. At Middleburg it struck the First
Rhode Island Regiment, and “then commenced a series of
cavalry battles continuing through several days, in which the
regiment was an active participant, suffering great loss in killed,
wounded, and captured.’’ Then, on the 21st of June, near
Upperville, “the fighting became desperate, often hand to hand,
with severe loss. * * * All the companies were engaged

in this fight and sustained losses.”

The Fourth Regiment passed through Hagerstown, and on
July 1, reached Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and then moved
towards Carlisle, but soon hurried to Gettysburg, arriving on
the morning of the 3d, when, at once becoming engaged, it
charged and routed the Federal Cavalry. But this hard contest
was the end of Captain Mclntire’s fine, active career. Like
many others, he fell into the enemy’s hands at South Mountain,
Pennsylvania, and, along with Colonel Kenan and hundreds of
other brave soldiers of the Cape Fear, he suffered all the terrible
hardships of a long captivity on Johnson’s Island. It was not
until the war had virtually closed, March 15, 1865, that he was
paroled.

John C. Mcllhenny was a first lieutenant in Company E,
Light Artillery, Tenth Regiment, Horth Carolina Troops; a
fine officer.

Thomas Hall McKoy, of Wilmington, entered the army early
in the war and saw active service throughout the campaigns of
the Branch-Lane brigade, of which he was one of the two com-
missaries, with rank of major.

His devotion to the cause, and his eminence as a merchant of
Wilmington are worthy of honorable mention. He engaged in
the mercantile business at the close of hostilities and died some
years ago, respected and honored by his friends and associates.

Hr. James F. McRee, jr., was a surgeon in the Third Horth
Carolina Infantry, and was faithful and well beloved. He was
commissioned May 16, 1861, from Hew Hanover County.

Sergt. Maj. Robert McRee, son of Dr. James F. McRee, jr.,
was killed at Spottsylvania Courthouse; a gallant soldier.

Henry C. McQueen was horn in Lumberton, Horth Carolina,
July 16, 1846. His ancestors were of the Highland Scotch who

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341

adhered with romantic loyalty to the cause of the Pretender, and
after his final defeat at Culloden, emigrated to America, where
their descendants have been distinguished and widely known.
Enlisting when a mere lad as a private in the First North Caro-
lina Battery, Henry McQueen, by the faithful discharge of
every duty devolving upon him, won the esteem and admiration
of all his comrades. On the 15th of January, 1865, when Fort
Fisher fell, he was wounded and captured, remaining in prison
until the close of the war.

His business career, which has been one of uninterrupted
honor and success, began in Wilmington, in January, 1866. In
1869 he entered the employ of Williams & Murchison, in New
York, and twelve years later became a partner in this firm. In
1899 he became president of the Murchison National Bank,
of Wilmington, and its success, which has been unexcelled in
the financial history of the State, has been due in large measure
to his exceptional ability and superior management. From its
organization in 1900 until he resigned in 1915, he was presi-
dent of the People’s Savings Bank, and he is still chairman of
its Board of Directors. Under his wise control, this bank has
reached a degree of prosperity which makes it a marvel to the
public. The same success has marked his presidency of the
Bank of Duplin, at Wallace, North Carolina, which he helped
to organize. He served two terms as president of the Chamber
of Commerce, was for many years commissioner of the Sinking
Fund of Wilmington and chairman of its Board of Audit and
Finance. At present he is president of the Carolina Insurance
Company and vice president of the Jefferson Standard Life In-
surance Company, which is the largest insurance company in
the South and which has kept millions of dollars in this section.

A man of dignity, gentleness, courtesy, modesty, and unself-
ishness, Mr. McQueen has the most attractive personality, while
his unswerving integrity, moral firmness, and frank sincerity
have won for him universal confidence and respect. He is a
member of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington and
one of its ruling elders.

In 1871, he married Miss Mary Agnes Hall, a daughter of
Avon E. Hall, of Fayetteville, and until her death in January,
1904, their life together was completely happy, with no dis-
cordant note.

Capt. Eugene S. Martin was fourth sergeant of the Wilming-
ton Eifle Guards, a company formed before the war and which

342

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

entered service on April 15, 1861, on the occupation of Fort
Caswell. Captain Martin was assigned to duty as sergeant
major, and afterwards as adjutant of the post, and served as
such until June 20, 1861, when he resigned the office and re-
turned to his company. In the meantime, the Eighth Regi-
ment was formed, and the Wilmington Rifle Guards became
Company I of that regiment, Captain Martin being second
sergeant, in which capacity he served until he was mustered
out, April 15, 1862. He was commissioned in May, 1862, first
lieutenant of artillery, and assigned to Company A, First North
Carolina Battalion of Heavy Artillery.

In the spring of 1864 he was detached from the company
and ordered to Fort Caswell as ordnance officer, where he served
until the fort was evacuated and blown up in January, 1865,
upon the fall of Fort Fisher. He served at Fort Anderson
during the bombardment in February, 1865, as ordnance officer,
and at the Battles of Town Creek, Kinston, and Bentonville, as
ordnance officer of Hagood’s brigade; and afterwards was or-
dered to the brigade of Junior Reserves, as ordnance officer, to
assist in organizing that brigade. He never received his com-
mission of captain, hut ranked as captain during the time he
was at Fort Caswell and until the end of the war. He sur-
rendered in Wilmington in May, 1865, to General Hawley,
commanding that post, and afterwards took the oath of alle-
giance.

Clarence D. Martin, a younger brother, left the University
in 1861 and enlisted in Company C, Thirteenth North Carolina
Regiment, serving as sergeant of his company. He was
wounded at the Battle of Williamsburg in May, 1862, and
carried to a hospital in Richmond. Later, he was removed to
Kenansville, where his father was residing temporarily, and died
there on his eighteenth birthday, June 27, 1862. His com-
rades and officers praised him as a fine soldier, and his memory
is cherished by all who knew him.

John E. Matthews: When Fort Sumter was bombarded by
Beauregard, Hr. Matthews was a member of the Elm City
cadets, of New Bern, which were ordered at once to take posses-
sion of Fort Macon. He remained there for two months under
Col. C. C. Tew, who was in command, and returned with the
company to New Bern, where he remained until ordered to
Garysburg, when the company became a part of the Second Regi-

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343

ment, North Carolina Troops, under Colonel Tew. Dr. Mat-
thews served continuously and actively with this regiment
throughout the war.

After the Battle of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, the
first corps of sharpshooters for Ramseur’s brigade was organ-
ized, which was the beginning of this branch of the service, and
Dr. Matthews was made second sergeant of the corps, partici-
pating at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Kelly’s Ford, where,
while on picket duty, he was captured. He was confined at
Point Lookout, but was exchanged in February, 1865, returned
to duty at Petersburg, and took part in the subsequent battles
around Petersburg and on the retreat at Sailor’s Creek, where
he was again captured and again confined at Point Lookout until
July 1, 1865, months after the surrender.

Thomas D. Meares has the honor of being one of the boy
soldiers of North Carolina during the closing scenes of the
great struggle. In December, 1864, being about sixteen years
of age, he enlisted as a private in the Junior Reserves, but
within a few weeks his soldierly qualities led to his selection as
a courier on the staff of Gen. Wade Hampton, between Hillsboro
and Durham, and he began a service as courier for that gallant
cavalry commander which continued until the end of the war.

Col. Oliver Pendleton Meares was captain of the Wilmington
Rifle Guards, which was one of the companies that occupied
Fort Caswell on April 16, 1861. This company was composed
of all the best young men of Wilmington who were not mem-
bers of the older company, the Wilmington Light Infantry.
At one time it had on its rolls more than a hundred men, rang-
ing from sixteen to twenty-two years of age, and only one mar-
ried man among them.

On the formation of the Eighth Regiment of Volunteers, the
Rifle Guards became Company I of that Regiment. The organ-
ization was effected at Camp Wyatt on July 1, 1861, and Col-
onel Radcliffe was elected colonel and Oliver P. Meares, lieu-
tenant colonel. The Rifle Guards, like the Wilmington Light
Infantry, furnished a large number of officers to other organiza-
tions of the State.

On the expiration of the twelve months for which the volun-
teer companies had originally enlisted, the regiment was reor-
ganized, and Colonel Meares retired as lieutenant colonel. On
the formation of the ten regiments of State Troops, enlisted for

344 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

three years, or the war, they were called the First Kegiment,
North Carolina State Troops, and so on; and the Eighth Regi-
ment Volunteers became the Eighteenth, and so on.

In August, 1862, Colonel Meares became commissary of the
Sixty-first Regiment. After the war he became a judge. Wil-
mington never had a truer son than Colonel Meares, and his
memory is justly revered.

Capt. E. G. Meares, of Company D, Third North Carolina
State Troops, was killed in the Battle of Sharpsburg. He was
“a good soldier, a brave man, discharging his duty under all
conditions.” He was a young man of fine character and was
greatly lamented.

Capt. James I. Metts was born at Kinston, N. C., March 16,
1842, but has lived in Wilmington since he was six years old.
Early in 1861 he left the State University to enlist in the Rifle
Guards, organized in anticipation of war, and on April 15 was
with his company in the seizure of Fort Caswell. Soon after-
wards his company was assigned to the Eighth Regiment, and
he was made corporal and was one of the color guard of the regi-
ment when it was ordered to Coosawhatchie, S. C. After this
he was given charge of the regimental colors, which he carried
until the twelve months’ term of service expired. Reenlisting,
he became fifth sergeant of Company G, Third Regiment, Col.
Gaston Meares. His bravery and ability won for him distinc-
tion in the Seven Days’ Battle, and were specially manifested
at Cold Harbor, where he re-formed part of the regiment, and
when in command of a detail in Chickahominy Swamp. After
Malvern Hill, where he was among those receiving the last
orders of Col. Gaston Meares, he was promoted to orderly ser-
geant, and was assigned to the main work of drilling the recruits
for his company. During the Maryland campaign he was dis-
abled by illness, but rejoined his company at Bunker Hill, and
in the promotions following the death at Sharpsburg of Cap-
tain Rhodes and First Lieutenant Quince, Sergeant Metts be-
came senior second lieutenant. At Winchester he was detailed
as commissary of the regiment, and after Front Royal he dis-
charged the duties of adjutant. His coolness at Fredericksburg
attracted the attention of superior officers. Afterwards he was
in the hospital at Richmond ill of pneumonia, but joined his
regiment in the fighting around Winchester, where his brigade,
Stuart’s, did much at Jordan Springs towards the victory over
Milroy.

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345

In the Confederate assault at Culp’s Hill, on the evening of
the second day at Gettysburg, he led his men within seventy-
five yards of the Federal breastworks, and here, while hotly
engaged, a boy soldier approached him and said, “Lieutenant,
my father is killed.” He could only answer, “Well, we can not
help it,” and the brave boy, replying, “Ho, we can not help it,”
turned and resumed firing as rapidly as he could at the enemy,
which he continued to do until exhausted, and the next day his
face was black with powder. In this engagement, while stand-
ing with Lieut. Col. William M. Parsley, Adjutant James, and
Capt. Edward H. Armstrong, three as brave men as ever stepped
to the tap of a drum, Lieutenant Metts was wounded in the left
lung, and experienced excruciating pain as he was hauled two
miles over a rough road in an ambulance. But for a Sister of
Charity, he would have died in the field hospital. Many people
from Baltimore and elsewhere visited the wounded Confederates
at Gettysburg, bringing clothing and delicacies of food. An
elderly lady, accompanied by two charming young lady friends,
finding Lieutenant Metts without a sheet, removed her petticoat,
tore it in two, and pinning it together, said, “Don’t mind me,
boys, I’m a mother, and he shall have a good sheet tomorrow.”
The same kindness followed him in the general camp hospital
and in the West Building Hospital in Baltimore, where he
found his kinsmen, Col. Thomas S. Kenan and James G. Kenan,
also wounded on Culp’s Hill. He was transferred to Johnson’s
Island, Lake Erie, where for thirteen months Colonel Kenan
was his bunkmate. Their sufferings here during the winter
were very severe, with cruel guards, insufficient food, scanty
clothing, in houses neither ceiled nor plastered, and with but
one stove for about sixty prisoners. During the night of Janu-
ary 1, 1864, when the mercury registered twenty degrees below
zero and even the guard was forced to take shelter, Maj. John
Winsted and three or four others escaped and made their way
across the ice to the mainland, but the excessive cold prevented
all but Major Winsted from going farther. He reached Can-
ada, and returned to the Confederacy on a blockade runner.
In August, 1864, Lieutenant Metts was selected as one of the
most enfeebled and delicate of the prisoners, for exchange, and
he soon reached Richmond, rejoicing in a new lease of life, for
he had been assured that he could not survive another winter on
Johnson’s Island. He found that Captain Armstrong, an ami-
able gentleman, a fine scholar, and one of the bravest of men,

346

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

had been killed at Spottsylvania, and he had been promoted to
the captaincy of his company, which he took command of, to-
gether with Company E, and served in Cox’s brigade, Grimes’s
division, notwithstanding his delicate health, until detailed to
serve on the staff of Major General Grimes as special instructor
of division. The night before arms were stacked at Appomattox
he accompanied a band from division headquarters to serenade
General Lee, who was too much affected to say much, but gave
each of the boys a warm pressure of the hand and an affectionate
good-bye. Joining his family, who had lost all of their prop-
erty, Captain Metts went to Wilmington to begin the struggle of
civil life. His first engagement was with two Federal sutlers,
who treated him kindly. Since then his exertions have been
rewarded with the success that is the just desert of a brave
patriot.

Dr. James A. Miller, surgeon of the Eighth (Eighteenth)
Regiment, became surgeon of the brigade and then division sur-
geon, and finally district surgeon of the district of the Cape
Fear.

Capt. John Miller, a son of Mr. Tom Miller, commanded
A. D. Moore’s battery after Moore’s promotion to the colonelcy
of the Sixty-sixth Regiment. He moved to California..

Capt. Julius Walker Moore was instrumental in raising a
company of cavalry early in the war. Later, he became captain
of a cavalry company raised chiefly in Onslow County, called
the “Humphrey Troop,” and borne on the roll as Company H,
Forty-first Regiment. Captain Moore, along with a consider-
able number of his company, fell into the hands of the enemy,
and was confined in Fort Delaware and on James Island until
the end of the war, when he returned home broken in health
and fortune, and he soon died at Charlotte.

James Osborne Moore became a purser in the Confederate
Havy. After the war he became a civil engineer. He died at
Charlotte. A still younger brother, Alexander Duncan Moore,
enlisted in Company I, Eighth Regiment of Volunteers, and
was sergeant major of the regiment when he fell on one of the
battlefields in Virginia. He was a bright young man, with the
finest characteristics, and was imbued with the noble spirit of
his Revolutionary forefathers.

Charles D. Myers was one of the members of the Wilmington
Light Infantry of ante-bellum times, and served in that com-
pany until he was made adjutant of the Eighth Regiment,

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347

North Carolina Troops. He subsequently served upon the
staff of Gen. Samuel G. French, who commanded the Confeder-
ate forces in the vicinity of Wilmington, with the rank of
captain.

Kenneth McKenzie Murchison1 was born near Fayetteville,
February 18, 1831, the son of Duncan Murchison, who was born
in Manchester, Cumberland County, May 20, 1801, and the
grandson of Kenneth McKenzie Murchison, for whom he was
named, and who came to this country from Scotland in 1773.
Duncan Murchison became prominent in the planting and man-
ufacture of cotton.

Colonel Murchison, the second son of Duncan, was graduated
at Chapel Hill in 1853, after which he was engaged in business
pursuits in New York City and Wilmington until the spring of
1861, when he disposed of his business in the North, assisted
in the organization of a company at Fayetteville, and entered
the service as second lieutenant. Fie commanded Company C,
of the Eighth Regiment, which was captured at Roanoke Island,
a disaster which Lieutenant Murchison escaped by his fortunate
absence on military detail. He then organized another com-
pany in Cumberland County, which was assigned to the Fifty-
fourth Regiment, with himself as captain. Upon the organiza-
tion of the regiment he was elected major, was soon promoted
to lieutenant colonel, and after the death of Col. J. C. S.
McDowell, at Fredericksburg, became the colonel of the regi-
ment. He was especially commended by Gen. E. M. Law, com-
mander of his brigade, for gallant service at Fredericksburg.
He commanded his regiment at Chancellorsville, and in the
Battle of Winchester against Milroy. Subsequently he was
ordered to convey the prisoners taken on that occasion to Rich-
mond, after which he returned to Winchester and served in
guarding the wagon trains of Lee’s army. On July 6, in com-
mand of his regiment, he gallantly repulsed the enemy’s ad-
vance on Williamsport. He served in Hoke’s brigade during
the subsequent operations in Virginia, and when the brigade
was cut off by the enemy at Rappahannock Station, November 7,
1863, he was among those captured. He was held a prisoner of
war on Johnson’s Island, Lake Erie, from that time until July,
1865, an imprisonment of twenty months. Upon his release he
resumed business in New York, and formed a brief partnership
under the firm name of Murray & Murchison, but dissolved it

iSketch bv Col. Alfred M. Waddell, in the Biographical History of
North Carolina.

348

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

in June, 1866, and established the firm of Murchison & Com-
pany, the members of the firm being himself, his brother,
David R. Murchison, George W. Williams, of Wilmington,
and John D. Williams, of Fayetteville. This firm did a very
large and profitable business for some years, the New York
house being managed by Colonel Murchison, under the name
of Murchison & Company. The Wilmington house was known
as Williams & Murchison, and the Fayetteville connection was
known as John D. Williams & Company.

Colonel Murchison lived in New York after the war, but
generally spent the winter in North Carolina. In the year 1880
he bought the old historic plantation called “Orton,” the family
seat of “King” Roger Moore, situated about sixteen miles be-
low Wilmington, on the west side of the Cape Fear, and. the
southernmost of all the old rice plantations on that river, and
he expended a large amount of money in restoring it to its
former condition and improving it in various ways to satisfy
his taste. Within its boundary was the colonial parish church
and churchyard of St. Philip’s, and this interesting ruin with
its consecrated grounds was conveyed in fee simple by Colonel
Murchison and his brother, David R. Murchison, to the diocese
of North Carolina. It is now carefully preserved by the North
Carolina Society of Colonial Dames of America. Orton has
always been a paradise of sportsmen, and the colonel was very
fond of hunting. It was his custom to bring some of his friends
down from the North every winter, and give them the oppor-
tunity to enjoy the old-time hospitality, which he dispensed
with' a lavish hand. It was here that those who loved him best
and who were loved by him spent their happiest days. The rest-
ful seclusion of this grandest of all colonial homes, with its broad
acres and primeval forests, was most grateful to him and to his
intimate associates after the storm and stress of war and the
subsequent struggles of business life. It was here that the
austerity of worldly contact was relaxed and the manifold hu-
manities of a gentle, kindly life unfolded. He never spoke of
his own exploits, nor did he willingly recall the horrors of the
four years’ war. He loved to roam the woods with his faithful
dogs, to linger for hours in the secluded sanctuary of the game
he sought so eagerly, and the sight of his triumphant return
from an exciting chase, with Reynard at the saddlebow, sur-
rounded by his yelping pack of English hounds, would rouse the
dullest of his guests to exclamations of delight.

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349

Colonel Murchison was also the joint owner with his brother
David of the celebrated Caney River hunting preserve, in the
wildest part of the mountains of North Carolina, where they
spent the summers of several happy years along the fourteen
miles of trout streams of icy waters. Within this splendid do-
main is some of the most picturesque of American mountain
scenery, including Mount Mitchell and the neighboring peaks.
It is the scene of big Tom Wilson’s hunting and trapping ex-
ploits, and Wilson still survives as the custodian of the magnifi-
cent forest and stream, to tell the curious stranger in his own
peculiar way how he found the body of the great naturalist
whose name Mount Mitchell bears.

Colonel Murchison’s striking personality was likened by those
who knew him to that of the great German chancellor, Prince
Bismarck, in his younger years. The commanding figure and
uncompromising expression, which characterized his outward
life, suggested a military training beyond that of his war
experience, and this was in strange contrast to his inner life, a
knowledge of which disclosed a sympathetic tenderness for all
suffering or afflicted humanity. He preferred and practiced the
simple life ; his wants were few and easily supplied. A notable
characteristic was his exceeding devotion to his five surviving
children; he was proud of them and of their loyal love to him,
and he made them his constant companions. He gave to worthy
charities with a liberal and unostentatious hand. His patriotic
spirit responded quickly to every public emergency, and his local
pride was manifested in the building and equipment, at a great
expense, of “The Orton,” when a good hotel was needed in
Wilmington, and when no one else would venture the invest-
ment.

During the last fifteen years of his honored life, Colonel
Murchison gradually withdrew from the activities of strenuous
business cares, and with the first frosts of autumn resumed
control at Orton Plantation. He left it in June of 1904 in the
vigor and spirits of abounding health, to meet, a few days later,
the sudden call of the Messenger of Death, whom he had never
feared. So lived and died a man of whom it may be said, “We
ne’er shall see his like again.” He was an example of splendid
physical manhood, of broad experience, of unyielding integrity,
pure in heart and in speech, with the native modesty of a woman
and the courage of a lion. He was especially sympathetic and
generous to his negro servitors, who regarded him with loving
veneration.

350

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Another of the long line of proprietors of Orton, where the
soft south breezes, which brought from their island home the
first Barbadian settlers, bring to the listening ear the murmured
miserere of the sea, has “crossed over the river to rest under the
shade of the trees/’

David Reid Murchison1 was horn at Holly Hill, Manchester,
F. C., December 5, 1837. He spent his boyhood days at Holly
Hill and received his early education in Cumberland County.
Later, he was a student at the University of Virginia. In 1860
he commenced his business career as a member of the firm
of Eli Murray & Co., of Wilmington, which was interrupted
in 1861 by the commencement of the War between the States.
He enlisted at once in the Seventh Forth Carolina Regiment
and remained with that command one year, when he was trans-
ferred to the Fifty-fourth Forth Carolina Regiment and as-
signed to duty with the rank of captain. With this regiment
he saw active service, and his conduct always reflected honor and
credit upon him as a brave and efficient officer. He was taken
from the Fifty-fourth Forth Carolina Regiment and made
inspector general of the Commissary Department of Forth
Carolina, having been appointed to this position by President
Davis on account of his executive ability, which was then, de-
spite his early age, recognized as of a very high order. The
change from active service to his new duties was very distasteful
to him and against his wishes. Brave himself, and born of
heroic blood, with a firmness and fortitude which faltered in no
crisis, he had an apitude for war, and doubtless would have
risen high in the profession of arms had he been allowed to see
active service in the field to the close of the war, as was his wish
and desire. One of his chief characteristics, however, was a
high sense of duty, which always prompted him to do whatever
work was before him as best he knew how. He filled the posi-
tion to which he was assigned until the close of the war with
great credit to himself and benefit to the soldiers of Forth Caro-
lina. His papers for advancement to the grade of major were
prepared, hut were not executed because of the close of hostili-
ties.

He was a singularly brave man, devoid of fear. Cool and
self-reliant under all circumstances, he gave confidence and
strength to the weak and timid. He was generous, full of
sympathy and of kindness to the poor and needy, to whom he

iSketch by Major C. M. Stedman.

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351

gave with an open and liberal hand. He was a sincere man,
abhoring deception and hypocrisy and looking with scorn upon
all that was base and mean. He died in Hew York, where he
had gone for medical treatment, February 22, 1882. He was
in the full meridian of his intellectual powers and his nobility
of mind and heart was never more clearly manifested than in
his last days. He went to his rest, his fortitude unshaken by
long-continued and severe suffering, his chief desire to give the
least possible pain and trouble to others, solicitous not for him-
self, but for the happiness of those he loved. His gentleness
and self-abnegation were as beautiful as his iron nerve was firm
and unyielding. Forth Carolina has furnished to the world
a race of men who by their great qualities have shed lustre
upon the State which gave them birth. In the elements of
character which constitute true greatness — courage, honor, truth,
fidelity, unselfish love of country and humanity — Capt. David
Reid Murchison will rank with the best and noblest of her
citizens.

He was a man of extraordinary business sagacity, which was
made manifest about the year 1880, when, after being appointed
receiver of the Carolina Central Railway, he startled the com-
munity by buying out the whole road, and he conducted it suc-
cessfully until his health began to fail, when he sold it at a
profit.

Col. John R. Murchison, the oldest of the sons of Duncan
Murchison, had a career brilliant with heroic deeds and per-
sonal sacrifice. Beloved at home by his fellow-countrymen and
upon the field by his devoted followers, as colonel of the Ffighth
Forth Carolina Regiment, Clingman’s brigade, Hoke’s division,
he took part in the Battles of Hatteras Inlet and Feuse Bridge,
and after camping for two months at Camp Ashe, Old Topsail
Sound, he won distinction at Morris Island, and fought so
bravely at Plymouth and Drewry’s Bluff, that he was recom-
mended for honors, and was promoted to be brigadier general
a few hours before his untimely death. In the Battle of Cold
Harbor, while personally leading a second charge of his regi-
ment, he was mortally wounded and fell within the enemy’s
lines. This final sacrifice of his noble life was marked by an
armistice between General Grant and General Lee, during
which several officers and men of the Eighth Regiment, seek-
ing the body of their beloved commander, were, through a mis-
understanding by General Grant, made prisoners and sent to

352

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the rear of the Federal Army, and the body of Colonel Murchi-
son was never recovered. The official correspondence on that
occasion is as follows :

Cold Harbor, Va., June 7, 1864 — 10.30 a. m.

-General R. E. Lee,

Comdg. Army of Northern Virginia.

I regret that your note of 7 p. m. yesterday should have been
received at the nearest corps headquarters to where it was delivered
after the hour that had been given for the removal of the dead and
wounded had expired. 10.45 p. m. was the hour at which it was
received at corps headquarters, and between 11 and 12 it reached my
headquarters. As a consequence, it was not understood by the troops
of this army that there was a cessation of hostilities for the purpose of
collecting the dead and wounded, and none were collected. Two officers
and six men of the Eighth and Twenty-fifth North Carolina Regiments,
who were out in search of the bodies of officers of their respective regi-
ments, were captured and brought into our lines, owing to this want of
understanding. I regret this, but will state that as soon as I learned
the fact I directed that they should not be held as prisoners, but must
be returned to their comrades. These officers and men having been
carelessly brought through our lines to the rear, I have not determined
whether they will be sent back the way they came or whether they will
be sent by some other route.

Regretting that all my efforts for alleviating the sufferings of wounded
men left upon the battlefield have been rendered nugatory, I remain, &c.,

U. S. Grant,
Lieutenant General.

Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia,
Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant, July 7, 1864 — 2 p. m.

Commanding U. 8. Armies.

General: — Your note of 10.30 a. m. today has just been received. I
regret that my letter to you of 7 p. m. yesterday should have been too
late in reaching you to effect the removal of the wounded.

I am willing, if you desire it, to devote the hours between 6 and 8 this
afternoon to accomplish that object upon the terms and conditions as
set forth in my letter of 7 p. m. yesterday. If this will answer your pur-
pose, and you will send parties from your lines at the hour designated
with white flags, I will direct that they be recognized and be permitted
to collect the dead and wounded.

I will also notify the officers on my lines that they will be permitted
to collect any of our men that may be on the field. I request you will
notify me as soon as practicable if this arrangement is agreeable to
you. Lieutenant McAllister, Corporal Martin, and two privates of the
Eighth North Carolina Regiment, and Lieutenant Hartman, Corpl. T.
Kinlaw, and Privates Bass and Grey were sent last night, between the
hours of 8 and 10 p. m., for the purpose of recovering the body of

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Colonel Murchison, and as they have not returned I presume they are
the men mentioned in your letter. I request that they be returned to
our lines. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. Lee,
General.

June 7, 1864.

Referred to General G. G. Meade, commanding Army of the Potomac.

I will notify General Lee that hostilities will cease from 6 to 8 for
the purposes mentioned. You may send the officers and men referred
to as you deem best. Please return this. U. S. Grant,

Lieutenant General.

Cold Harbor, Va., June 7, 1864 — 5.30 p. m.

General R. E. Lee,

Commanding Army of Northern Virginia.

Your note of this date just received. It will be impossible for me to
communicate the fact of the truce by the hour named by you (6 p. m.),
but I will avail myself of your offer at the earliest possible moment,
which I hope will not be much after that hour. The officers and men
taken last evening are the same mentioned in your note, and will be
returned. U. S. Grant,

Lieutenant General.

Commodore W. T. Muse was an officer in the North Carolina
Navy. The State of North Carolina, immediately after the
adoption of the ordinance of secession, began the defense of her
inland sounds by the construction of forts at Hatteras and Ocra-
coke Inlets and by the purchase of several small steamers, which
were converted into gunboats. Those of her sons who were in
the United States Navy tendered their resignations and placed
their services at the disposal of their native State; prominent
among them being William T. Muse, who was ordered by the
Naval and Military Board, of which Warren Winslow was presi-
dent, to Norfolk, to take charge of, and fit out, as gunboats at
the navy yard at Portsmouth the steamers purchased by the
State. Commander W. T. Muse sailed from Norfolk, August 2,
1861, with the Ellis , arriving off Ocracoke Inlet the 4th. North
Carolina’s naval force consisted of seven vessels, but she sold
them to the Confederate Navy in the fall of 1861, and her naval
officers were then transferred to the Confederacy.

A. W. Newkirk was commissioned as captain of Company A
(originally known as the “Rebel Rangers”), New Hanover
County, Forty-first Regiment, the 19th of October, 1861. A
brilliant exploit performed by the Rebel Rangers is reported by
Gen. W. H. C. Whiting, commanding the district of Wilming-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ton. He says that in November, 1862, Captain Newkirk’s
cavalry and Captain Adams with a section of a field battery
captured a steam gunboat of the enemy on New River. Her
crew escaped, but her armament, ammunition, and small arms
were captured.

Capt. William Harris Northrop, a prominent business man
of Wilmington, who served in the Confederate cause in various
capacities throughout the war, was born in that city in 1836,
and there reared and educated. In 1855 he became a member
of the Wilmington Light Infantry, with which he was on duty
before the secession of the State at Fort Caswell, and later at
Fort Fisher. In June, 1865, he was commissioned lieutenant
and assigned to the Third North Carolina, then stationed at
Aquia Creek, on the Potomac. He served in the line about
eighteen months and was then commissioned captain quarter-
master. After six months of this duty with his regiment, he
was transferred to the Second Corps, Engineer Troops, and
stationed at Wilmington and vicinity. After the evacuation of
that city he was attached to the staff of General Bragg until the
surrender. Among the engagements in which he participated
were Aquia Creek on the Potomac, the Seven Days’ Battle be-
fore Richmond, Frederick City, Boonshoro, Sharpshurg, and
Bentonville. Both as a company officer and as a staff officer,
his service was marked by bravery and entire devotion to the
cause. After the close of hostilities Captain Northrop con-
stantly resided at Wilmington.

Capt. W. P. Oldham was captain of Company K, Forty-
fourth Regiment, North Carolina Troops. At the Battle of
Reams Station Captain Oldham sighted one of the guns repeat-
edly, and when he saw the effect of his accurate aim upon the
masses in front, he was so jubilant that General MacRae, with
his usual quiet humor, remarked: “Oldham thinks he is at a
ball in Petersburg.”

Rev. George Patterson, D.D., of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, was commissioned on the 30th day of December, 1862,
chaplain of the Third Regiment. He was faithful to the last.
He preached in Wilmington for years after the war, and after-
wards in Memphis, Tenn., where he recently died.

One of our venerable survivors of war times who retains the
respect and admiration of all who know him, and they are
legion, is Richard P. Paddison,1 of Point Caswell, whose mili-

iCaptain Paddison has since died.

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355

tary record is told in his own words. A chapter of his humor-
ous experiences can appropriately he added, as the tragedies of
these fearful years of bloodshed were not without a comic point
of view.

He tells us that in the month of March, 1861, “this part of
North Carolina was wild with excitement and rumors of war,
and a public meeting was called at Harrell’s Store, in Sampson
County, for the purpose of organizing a military company to he
tendered the Governor. In a short time an organization was
effected, and a man named Taylor was elected captain. At the
next meeting they voted to call the company the ‘Wild Cat
Minute Men.’ Next the question came up as to where the com-
pany should go. After considerable talk it was voted that the
company should remain around Wild Cat as a home protection.
There were a number of us, however, who did not take to the
Wild Cat idea, and quietly withdrew and marched to Clinton,
where a company was being organized by Capt. Frank Faison,
called the ‘Sampson Hangers,’ composed of the flower of the
young men of the county. I joined as a private in this com-
pany. We had a good time drilling and eating the best the
country could afford, and every fellow was a hero in the eyes of
some pretty maiden. But this easement was suddenly cut short
by orders to go with utmost dispatch to Fort Johnston. The
whole town was in excitement. We were ordered to get in
marching order, and to my dying day I shall remember that
scene — mothers, wives, sisters, and sweethearts all cheering and
encouraging their loved ones to go forth and do their duty ; such
love of country could only he shown by true Southern woman-
hood. After a good dinner and a sweet farewell under the in-
spiring strains by the hand of ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me,’ we
took up our march to Warsaw, where we boarded the train for
Wilmington and arrived before night. We were met by the
officials and marched up Front Street to Princess and Second;
here we halted and the fun began. On the northeast corner
stood a large brick house built for a negro jail and operated, I
think, by a Mr. Southerland. We were informed that this was
to be our quarters for the night. Now picture in your mind,
if you can, a hundred and twenty wealthy young men, most of
them Chapel Hill and high-school boys, whose combined wealth
could purchase half the city of Wilmington, being forced to
sleep in a negro jail. We marched into the house and deposited
our luggage, which in after years would have been sufficient for

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Stonewall Jackson’s army. The rumbling noise of discord and
discontent rose rapidly. We held a council of war and informed
our officers that we would not submit to quarters in that house.
We were to take the steamer next morning at nine o’clock for
Tort Johnston. This was rather a critical situation for both
officers and men. At this juncture. Judge A. A. McKoy, who
was a private, said he would stand sponsor for the boys to he on
hand next morning on time. This was accepted, and there was
a hot time in the old town that night. Next morning, promptly
on time, every man was present. We hoarded a river steamer,
I think the Flora Macdonald , and arrived in good shape at our
destination, where we had a good time until the organization of
the Twentieth North Carolina Regiment, when our trouble be-
gan. Our captain was elected lieutenant colonel, and an order
was issued for the election of a captain. The candidates were
James D. Holmes and William S. Devane. There was a strong
feeling on both sides in the company. The Devane men, of
whom I was one, said we would not serve under Holmes. I
can not remember how long this trouble lasted, hut the matter
was carried to Governor Ellis, who settled it by ordering each
faction to send out recruiting officers and make two companies,
which was done. I was sent out, and had ten recruits in three
or four days. Both candidates were elected, Captain Holmes’s
company going to the Thirtieth Regiment; and Captain De-
vane’s company was detached for quite a long time doing service
at Tort Caswell and Tort Johnston. In 1862 the Sixty-seventh
Regiment was organized, and Captain Devane was made lieu-
tenant colonel. About this time I was appointed hospital stew-
ard by Hon. James A. Sedden, Secretary of War. I remained
at Tort Johnston during the epidemic of yellow fever in 1862,
and of smallpox in the winter of the same year; after this I
was transferred to General Hospital No. 4, Wilmington, which
comprised the Seamen’s Home building and buildings on the
opposite side of Tront Street. Thomas M. Ritenour was sur-
geon and A. E. Wright and Josh Walker, assistant surgeons.
This was one of the largest and best equipped hospitals in the
State.

“After the fall of Eort Tisher we had orders to send our sick
and wounded to Tayetteville and Goldsboro. By the aid of
Captain Styron and his assistant, Mr. I. B. Grainger, who was
the best organizer and disciplinarian I ever knew, we succeeded
in getting all except thirty-two removed to safety. These were

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357

so badly wounded that it was impossible to move them. I placed
these wounded in ward dSTo. 2 with Mrs. McCauslin, matron, in
charge. Supplies were very scarce. Dr. Josh Walker was the
last one to leave. He went out on Tuesday night, and Wednes-
day morning the streets were swarming with Federal soldiers.
About 10 a. m. a surgeon came to our hospital and inquired
who was in charge. I replied that I was in charge. He said :
‘I want you to move everything out. I want this hospital for
our use.7 I replied that I had nowhere to go, and no way to
move. ‘You must find a house,7 he replied, ‘and at once, and
report to me at headquarters. I will furnish you with trans-
portation.7 I did not stand on the order of my going. I found
a house on Fourth Street near Red Cross, owned by David Bunt-
ing, whose family had left the city. I made the report, and the
Federal surgeon general ordered three ambulances. The trans-
fer was soon made. I wish to state that we had courteous treat-
ment from the authorities, but of course we were very short of
supplies. The first genuine treat we had was by Mr. F. W.
Foster, who was acting as sanitary agent. He drove up one
morning, came in and inquired about the sick, and asked if I
would like to have some milk punch for the men. I said, ‘Yes,7
as it had been a long time since we had had any such luxury.
He went out and soon returned with two large pails and a
dipper, and personally served to each all they could stand. This
he continued to do for several weeks. On one of his visits he
asked me if I would like to have some canned goods for the
hospital. I replied, ‘Yes,7 and he said, ‘The steamer General
Lyon is unloading a cargo of hospital supplies. If you will go
down there you can get what you want.7 I replied that I had
no way to get them and no money to hire with. He said, ‘I will
send you an ambulance; go down and get what you want.7 I
said, ‘Won’t you give me an order?7 to which he replied, ‘Ho,
if any one says anything to you tell them Foster sent you.7 The
ambulance came. I didn’t want any help. The vessel was
unloading near where Springer’s coal yard is now. We backed
up and I began to select what I wanted. I was not at all modest,
and thinking that this would be the last haul I would get from
Uncle Sam, I loaded to the limit. Strange to say, no questions
were asked, and it is safe to say our boys fared well while
things lasted. As the men improved they went home, and on
the 5th of June I closed the doors. The last hero had gone to
rebuild his broken fortunes and I felt a free man once more.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

I came out of the army as I had entered it — without one dollar,
hut with a clear conscience, having performed my duty to my
country as I saw it. From April 20, 1861, to June 5, 1865,
I never had a furlough or a day’s absence from duty.

“I can not close without saying a word about the splendid
women of Wilmington for their devotion and attention to our
destitute sick and wounded during those trying times. I have
tried to recall the names of some of them, but can not do so. I
fear few, if any, are living today.”

Capt. Elisha Porter, of Company E, Third North Carolina
Regiment, served from the beginning of the war up to and in-
cluding the Battle of Chancellorsville. During that engagement
he penetrated within the enemy’s breastworks and was bayo-
neted by a Federal soldier. Finding that he was about to he
killed, he attempted to scale the breastworks and succeeded in
doing so, hut was shot in the thigh and apparently mortally
wounded. After the battle he heard the voice of a friend, by
whom he was taken to the Confederate field hospital. Dr.
Porter survived for many years after the war, hut was always
crippled.

Joseph Price was one of the first lieutenants in Company H,
Fortieth Regiment, which was organized at Bald Head, at the
mouth of the Cape Fear River, the 1st of December, 1863, from
heavy artillery companies already in the service. Company H
was composed principally of Irishmen, and no better or more
loyal men or better soldiers could he found in any company.
Whether work or fighting was to be done, they were always
ready and went wherever ordered. Lieutenant Price’s capture
of the United States steamer Water Witch, by boarding in a
night attack, was one of the most brilliant of the Confederate
exploits on the water. His modest official report of this affair
was characteristic of the man.

Capt. Richard W. Price entered the Confederate service in
October, 1864, at the age of seventeen, in the Junior Reserves,
afterwards the Seventy-second Regiment. He served chiefly at
Fort Fisher, and when the fort fell he was captured and taken
a prisoner to Fort Delaware, where he remained until after the
general surrender. When the Fort Fisher Survivors’ Associa-
tion, composed of the Blue and the Cray, was organized, Captain
Price was made secretary, and held that position to the time of
his death.

Capt. Robert G. Rankin was chairman of the Safety Com-

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359

mittee before tbe outbreak of the war. At the beginning of tbe
war he was made quartermaster of Wilmington, and was after-
wards made captain of the First Battalion, Heavy Artillery.
This battalion went into the Battle of Bentonville with 260 men
and came out with 115. Every officer except two was killed,
wounded, or captured. Captain Rankin was among the killed,
stricken by eight balls.

Capt. John T. Rankin entered the Confederate Army as a
private, and at the youthful age of nineteen was made first lieu-
tenant of Company D, First Battalion, North Carolina Heavy
Artillery, under Captain McCormick. He was at Fort Fisher
during the first battle and was highly complimented by General
Whiting for gallantry. During the second battle Captain
McCormick was killed and Lieutenant Rankin became captain.

He fought at Fort Anderson, and on February 20, 1865, was
wounded in the thigh at Town Creek and taken prisoner. He
was treated with great courtesy by Colonel Rundell, of the One
Hundredth Ohio Regiment, and carried to the Old Capitol
Prison at Washington, where he saw the crowd and commotion
caused by the second inauguration of President Lincoln. He
was afterwards sent to Fort Delaware, where he remained until
released after the war.

Maj. James I. Reilly: General Whiting, in his report of the
fall of Fort Fisher, says: “Of Major Reilly, with his battalion
of the Tenth North Carolina, who served the guns of the land
face during the entire action, I have to say he has added another
name to the long list of fields on which he has been conspicuous
for indomitable pluck and consummate skill.” Colonel Lamb,
in his official report, says: “Major Reilly, of the Tenth North
Carolina Regiment, discharged his whole duty. To the coolness
of Major Reilly we are indebted for the defense of the land
face.” Maj. William J. Saunders, chief of artillery, says: “I
would beg particularly to call attention to the skill displayed by
that splendid artillerist, Maj. James Reilly, of the Tenth North
Carolina Regiment.”

James Reilly was a sergeant in the old United States Army,
and was in charge of Fort Johnston, when, on January 10, 1861,
it was hastily occupied by some ardent Southerners from Wil-
mington. After the State seceded he was appointed captain of
a light battery and won fame in Virginia. On September 7,
1863, he was promoted to major, and John A. Ramsay became
captain of the company. Major Reilly was one of the bravest
and most efficient defenders of Fort Fisher.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

A. Paul Repiton, a son of Rev. A. Paul Repiton, joined the
Corps of Engineers in 1863. He was a man of fine spirit and
a very efficient soldier.

C. H. Robinson enlisted early in the war, having given up a
good business to respond to the call of his adopted State, and
became quartermaster sergeant of the Pifty-first Regiment,
North Carolina Troops, in which capacity he served throughout
the war.

His regiment was organized at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh,
September 18, 1862, Col. J. V. Jordan, commanding; E. R.
Liles, lieutenant colonel; J. A. McKoy, major; W. H. Battle,
surgeon; John W. Cox, quartermaster; and C. H. Robinson,
quartermaster sergeant.

Frederick G. Robinson, a native of Bennington, Vermont,
joined his prominent relatives on the Cape Fear prior to the
war of 1861, and, full of enthusiasm for his adopted State,
enlisted at the beginning of hostilities in the Wilmington Rifle
Guards, which became Company I of the Eighth Regiment,
North Carolina Volunteers, and with it, and later with the For-
tieth, he did valiant service through all the campaigns to the
Battle of Bentonville, where he was captured. He remained a
prisoner of war until after the general surrender.

The writer, an intimate, lifelong friend, who admired his
brave and generous nature, recalls a characteristic incident in
Sergeant Robinson’s military career. A contemptible comrade
having behind his hack questioned his loyalty to the South on
account of his Northern birth, Sergeant Robinson stepped out
of the ranks and publicly denounced the base insinuation, and
offered to fight each and every man then and there who dared to
repeat the allegation.

Beloved by many of his associates, his memory is still cher-
ished in the hearts of his friends.

Capt. Edward Savage was captain of Company D, Third
Regiment, a company raised by him. In May, 1862, Lieuten-
ant Colonel Cowan having been promoted to the colonelcy of the
Eighteenth North Carolina Infantry, Captain Savage was made
major. Major Savage was wounded in the Battle of Mechanics-
ville. After the death of Col. Gaston Meares at Malvern Hill,
Major Savage became lieutenant colonel. He resigned after the
battles around Richmond on account of continued ill health.

Capt. Henry Savage yras one of the organizers of the Wil-
mington Light Infantry, in 1853, in which he held the rank of

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361

junior second lieutenant. With this command, which became
Company G of the Eighth, later the Eighteenth, North Carolina
Regiment, he entered the Confederate service in April, 1861,
and in June was promoted to he captain of his company. He
served in Virginia, in the brigade of General Branch, and par-
ticipated in the Battle of Hanover Courthouse and the Seven
Hays’ Battle before Richmond. He escaped serious injury from
the enemy’s bullets, though hit several times ; but, falling a vic-
tim to disease as the result of arduous service and exposure, he
was sent to a hospital in Richmond, and a few days later allowed
to go home on furlough. Eour or five months afterwards,
having in a measure recovered strength, he attempted to rejoin
his regiment, hut, suffering a relapse en route, he returned home
and accepted an honorable discharge. In the early part of 1863
he was appointed by President Havis collector of customs at the
port of Wilmington and depositary for the Confederate States
Treasury, and the duties of this position occupied him until the
close of the struggle for independence. After the fall of Eort
Eisher he retired to Raleigh, and, establishing his office in a box
car, moved west as necessity demanded until the fall of the gov-
ernment.

Daniel Shackelford enlisted with Company I, Eighth Regi-
ment, and served in it for twelve months. He reenlisted in the
Sixty-first Regiment and became first lieutenant, and was killed
at the Battle of Eraser’s Earm. His brother Theodore, who was
in the same command, and who was also in the hospital with
him, died literally of a broken heart, grieving because of the
death of his brother.

Dr. Joseph C. Shepard, of Wilmington, was horn in New
Hanover County in 1840. Early in the fall of 1861 he enlisted
in the Confederate States service and, being commissioned as-
sistant surgeon, was assigned to duty on the coast, with Adams’
battery. In the fall of 1864 he was transferred to Eort Fisher,
where he remained through the first bombardment and the sec-
ond, at the latter being captured with the brave defenders. He
was sent as a prisoner of war to Governor’s Island and held
there until early in March following, when he was returned to
duty in North Carolina and assigned to the hospital at Greens-
boro, where he remained until after the surrender.

Rev. James A. Smith as a boy participated in the War be-
tween the States, manifesting the same courage and energy
which characterized his subsequent life. At the age of seven-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

teen he enlisted as a private in the Confederate service in
Company D, First North Carolina Heavy Artillery, January
13, 1865, and was given a position as courier for Major General
Whiting. While serving in this capacity he was with the troops
at Fort Fisher, and on January 15, 1865, during the bombard-
ment and assault of that stronghold, was wounded. He was
taken prisoner with the garrison and confined for six months
at Point Lookout, being released June 9, 1865.

Maj. James Martin Stevenson entered the Confederate Army
at the beginning of the war as first lieutenant of a company
raised by Capt. J. J. Hedrick.

Soon after the seizure of Fort Johnston, Lieutenant Steven-
son was ordered to Fort Caswell as ordnance officer, and while
there three young men from Sampson County raised a company
and offered him the captaincy, which he accepted. This com-
pany was attached to the Thirty-sixth Regiment and ordered to
Fort Fisher, where Captain Stevenson was made major of the
regiment. Major Stevenson remained at Fort Fisher until he
was ordered to reinforce General Hardee in Georgia. There he
was highly complimented for his cool bravery and tact in cover-
ing General Hardee’s retreat. He took with him to Georgia five
companies from the Thirty-sixth Regiment.

Major Stevenson was again remanded to his regiment at Fort
Fisher, where he arrived just after the attack in December,
1864. On the 13th of January, 1865, the attack was renewed.
In the battle Major Stevenson was hurled from the parapet by
the explosion of an eleven-inch shell. He fell bleeding in the
fort below the battery and was carried a prisoner to Fort Colum-
bus, Governor’s Island, N. Y., where he died. He did his whole
duty and did it well. Wilmington had no nobler son.

James C. Stevenson and Daniel S. Stevenson were worthy
sons of Maj. James M. Stevenson, of Wilmington. Both en-
listed in the Confederate Army when they were much below the
service age limit. James, for a time, was employed on the
North Carolina steamer Advance; afterwards he served in the
field as a private in Company A, Thirty-sixth Regiment, North
Carolina Troops. He survived the war, and was for many years
a prominent merchant, a most estimable citizen, and an active
Christian worker. He died April 13, 1907, lamented by the
community.

Daniel Stevenson was an efficient member of the Confederate
States Signal Corps, and was detailed for active service with

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363

the blockade runners, on several of which he served with great
coolness under fire. He was captured in 1865 off Galveston and
imprisoned until the war ended. His last exploit was running
through the blockade in daylight in the steamer Little Hattie ,
which drew the fire of the whole fleet, hut anchored compara-
tively uninjured under the guns of Fort Fisher. Dan Steven-
son was a young man of most amiable, generous impulses, and
was greatly esteemed by his associates for his many excellent
qualities. He died shortly after the termination of the war.

Capt. William M. Stevenson was elected one of the lieuten-
ants of Company B, Sixty-first Regiment of Forth Carolina
Troops, of which James D. Radcliffe of Wilmington was colonel
and William S. Devane lieutenant-colonel and subsequently
colonel. At the Battle of Fort Harrison, in Virginia, Septem-
ber, 1864, while in command of the company, to which position
he had succeeded, he was captured and taken to Fort Delaware,
where he was confined until the surrender.

Captain Stevenson’s service in the field was continuous from
his enlistment in 1861 up to the last of 1864, including the
action at Fort Hatteras and the campaigns of the Army of
Horthern Virginia.

Rev. Dr. James Menzies Sprunt, who was principal of the
Grove Academy, went to the front with the Duplin Rifles and
became chaplain of the Twentieth Regiment, Forth Carolina
Troops, commanded by Colonel Iverson, in Garland’s brigade,
D. H. Hill’s division, under Stonewall Jackson. General Hill,
who greatly admired him, said he was one of the few chaplains
always at the front on the battlefield. He served throughout
the war, revered by the men of his regiment, and was greatly
beloved at his home in Duplin County throughout his honored
life.

Maj. Matthew P. Taylor was major of the Sixth Battalion,
Armory Guards. The battalion was as well drilled and as
thoroughly disciplined as any command in the Confederate
service.

Capt. John F. S. VanBokkelen left Harvard College in 1861
and returned to Wilmington, where he aided in raising a com-
pany which was assigned to the Third Forth Carolina Infantry
as Company D, Edward Savage, captain; E. G. Meares, first
lieutenant; and John F. S. VanBokkelen, second lieutenant.
He served through the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond,
and at Sharpshurg, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville with
conspicuous bravery.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

After the Seven Days’ Battles around Bichmond he was pro-
moted to first lieutenant, and he acted as adjutant of the com-
pany for some time. After the Battle of Sharpsburg he was
promoted to he captain of the company, Captain Meares having
been killed. Capt. VanBokkelen was wounded at the Battle
of Chancellorsville, and died within a month afterwards.

It was with genuine grief that the death of Capt. Van-
Bokkelen, which occurred in Bichmond, was announced to the
regiment while on the march in the campaign of 1863. He was
universally popular and almost idolized by his own men. He
was but twenty-one years of age, and full of youthful ardor,
intelligent, and with an acute conception of his duties and an
indomitable energy in pursuing the line of conduct which a dis-
criminating judgment dictated to him. To him, probably more
than to any other officer, was due the high morale which the com-
pany attained. His surviving classmates of Jewett’s school still
remember the sterling character of this worthy son of the Cape
Fear, who was generally beloved for his unselfish, kindly nature
and genial humor.

Bev. Dr. Alfred A. Watson was chaplain of the Second Begi-
ment, and, besides his clerical duties, gave valuable service as a
scout. His acquaintance with the topography of the country was
of great value to the commanding officer. He had the profound
respect of every mam He was commissioned the 21st of June,
1861, and resigned in 1862. He preached in Wilmington many
years after the war, and was bishop of the diocese of East Caro-
lina from 1884 until his death.

Capt. O. A. Wiggins, a gallant veteran of Lane’s brigade,
entered the service as a private in the Scotland Heck Mounted
Biflemen, organized in his native county, and subsequently was
promoted to lieutenant of Company E, Thirty-seventh Begi-
ment, in the brigade then commanded by General Branch, and
later by General Lane. With this command he went through
the entire war, participating in the battles at Hanover Court-
house, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Eraser’s Farm, Cedar
Bun, Second Manassas, Ox Hill, Sharpsburg, Harper’s Ferry,
Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
Falling Waters, Bristow Station, Mine Bun, the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Courthouse, Beams Station, Jones’s Farm, Hare’s
Hill, and the fighting on the Petersburg lines until they were
broken. He was wounded at Chancellorsville. At Spottsylvania
Courthouse, May 12, he was promoted to captain on the field,

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365

and was wounded on the same field May 21; at Petersburg,
April 2, he was shot in the head and made prisoner. While be-
ing conveyed to Johnson’s Island, he escaped by jumping from
a car window while the train was at full speed, near Harris-
burg, Pa., after which he disguised himself and worked his
way back to Dixie.

Capt. J. Marshall Williams, of Pay etteville, entered the Con-
federate service in the Bethel Pegiment as a private. When the
regiment was disbanded he and Col. K. M. Murchison organized
a company of 125 men, which was assigned to the Fifty-fourth
Regiment. After the Fifty-fourth Regiment was organized, it
was sent immediately to Lee’s army and assigned to Hood’s
brigade. When Hood was promoted, Gen. Robert F. Hoke suc-
ceeded to the command. The brigade was composed of the Sixth,
Twenty-first, Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-seventh Regiments and
was in Jackson’s corps. This brigade was under six or eight
different commanders, but was always known as Hoke’s old
brigade. It was in most of Lee’s battles. When the regiment
was captured at Fredericksburg, Captain Williams was absent
on detached service.

Having no command, he was then detailed to command sharp-
shooters in different regiments until his regiment was exchanged.
He had the rank of captain and was adjutant and inspector gen-
eral. He saw his regiment overpowered and captured twice, and
on the latter occasion made his escape by swimming the Rapidan
River near Brandy Station. He was wounded once, and had his
shoulder dislocated by a fall. He surrendered at Appomattox
as second senior officer of the regiment, and rode home on a
horse that had been with Hoke’s staff for two years and wounded
twice.

Capt. A. B. Williams, of Fayetteville, entered the Confeder-
ate service at the age of eighteen as second lieutenant of Com-
pany C, Light Battery, Tenth Regiment, organized at Charlotte,
May 16, 1861, and was promoted to captain March 1, 1864.
He was first ordered to Raleigh, then to Hew Bern and various
other places in eastern North Carolina, and was in many of the
great battles, including Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, the Wilder-
ness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, where he was severely wounded,
Petersburg, and Appomattox Courthouse. He was attached to
Pogue’s battalion, Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia,
and went with Lee’s army to Maryland and Pennsylvania.

His battery is supposed to have fired one of the last, if not the

366 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

last, shots at Appomattox. He was subsequently mayor of Fay-
etteville, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, cap-
tain of the Lafayette Light Infantry, president of the Centen-
nial Celebration, and delegate to State and National conven-
tions.

From a eulogy by Colonel Broadfoot, a fellow-member of the
United Confederate Veterans’ Camp, the following is taken:

“Comrades : — This time it is an artilleryman- — Capt. Arthur
Butler Williams, of Brem’s battery, Army of Northern Vir-
ginia, Company C, Tenth Begiment, North Carolina Troops,
whose guns fired the last shot at Appomattox, which will echo
and reecho to the last syllable of recorded time, and gladden all
hearts ready and worthy to do and die for country. In the
sixty-first year of his age he passed quietly to his rest.

“He was of fine presence, good manners, pleasing address,
and withal plain as a pikestaff. His habits were exemplary, his
principles sound, his character the highest; in the community,
in fact, in this part of the State, everybody knew him, everybody
respected, and those who knew him best, loved him.

“We shall miss his manly form, his cheerful greeting — the
eyes that looked you squarely in the face, hut always pleasantly.
The open hands are now folded, palm downward; the tongue
that always voiced the bright side, and was never — no never —
known to grumble, has been hushed.

“Comrades, let us speak more often the kindly word, extend
more readily the helping hand to each other; and let each
soldier keep his armor bright against that day, when each in
turn shall be called to pass inspection before the great Cap-
fain — ‘Close up.’ ”

Capt. Robert Williams became captain of the Rifle Guards,
hut later, resigning, was appointed purser of the blockade runner
Index , and died of yellow fever while in that service.

Capt. David Williams, of the Burgaw section of New Han-
over, raised Company K of the Third Regiment of State Troops,
and was one of the most valued officers of that regiment. He
had the esteem, confidence, and affection of his soldiers to a
remarkable degree.

Thomas Fanning Wood, in April, 1861, joined the Wilming-
ton Rifle Guards, which later became Company I, Eighth Regi-
ment of Volunteers. In November, 1861, the regiment was
hurried to Coosawhatchie to confront the Federals who had
landed on the South Carolina coast; and in the spring of 1862,
it joined Jackson’s corps in Virginia.

The War Between the States

367

Dr. Wood was often called on to help the sick soldiers in the
hospitals, and after the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond
he was ordered to hospital duty. When Dr. Otis F. Manson, of
Richmond Hospital, learned that he was a medical student, he
secured from the Secretary of War an order detailing him for
duty at the hospital, with the privilege of attending lectures at
the Virginia Medical College. Doctor Manson had brought his
library to Richmond with him, and gave Dr. Wood free access
to it. In 1862, after passing the examination by the Medical
Board, Dr. Wood was appointed assistant surgeon and served in
that capacity until the end of the war.

After the war, Dr. Wood attained eminence in his profession.
He served many years as secretary of the State Medical Society,
and he established and edited until his death the Medical J our-
nalj a publication, highly valued by his professional brethren.

John L. Wooster was first lieutenant of Company E, First
Regiment. He was wounded in the shoulder at one of the
Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond in 1862, and disabled
from further service.

William A. Wooster, private, Company I, Eighteenth Regi-
ment, was killed in the Seven Days’ fight in Virginia. He was
one of the brightest young men of the Cape Fear. He had been
commissioned lieutenant before he was killed.

Adam Empie Wright was commissioned the 20th of July,
1862, as assistant surgeon of the Hew Hanover County Hos-
pital, in Wilmington.

Thomas Charles Wright, sergeant major, was one of the
brightest and best of the Wilmington boys who went from
Jewett’s school to the War between the States. Fired with the
enthusiasm of youth and manly courage, he served with great
credit in the Virginia campaigns and was mortally wounded in
the head and died at a hospital in Richmond.

Capt. James A. Wright, son of Dr. Thomas H. Wright, was
captain of Company E, First Regiment. He was killed in the
battles around Richmond. He was the most brilliant young
man of Wilmington — and of the State — and his early death
was greatly deplored.

Lieut. Joshua Grainger Wright first enlisted for military
duty in the spring of 1862, becoming the orderly sergeant of an
independent cavalry company. But he was with this command
not more than four or five weeks when he became a member of
the First Horth Carolina Infantry, which had been on duty in

368 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Virginia since July, 1861. In this regiment he was commis-
sioned first lieutenant of Company E. The regiment was part
of Ripley’s brigade, D. H. Hill’s division, and served with great
credit in the Battles of Boonsboro, or South Mountain, Sharps-
burg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. At the last battle,
while participating in the gallant assault by Jackson’s corps,
he was seriously wounded, a shot passing through his left hip.
This caused his entire disability until the spring of 1864, when
he attempted to reenter the service, but soon found it impossible
to undertake duty in the field. Returning to Wilmington, he
was assigned to duty in the office of the provost marshal for
several months. He made two more attempts to enter the field,
but without success.

Charles W. Yates enlisted in 1862 in an independent cavalry
company organized from several counties, which became Com-
pany E, of the Forty-first Regiment, Horth Carolina Troops.
During nearly the whole of his service he acted as courier for
Col. John A. Baker and his successor, Col. Roger Moore.
Among the cavalry engagements in which he took part were
those at Hew Bern, Kinston, Hanover Courthouse, Reams Sta-
tion, Ashland, Chaffin’s Farm, Drewry’s Bluff, and Petersburg.
He was slightly wounded in the skirmish near Kinston; and
just after the fall of Hew Bern in June, 1862, he was captured
and imprisoned in a jail at that place several months, and after-
wards held nearly two months at Governor’s Island and Fort
Delaware before he was exchanged. During the retreat at
Appomattox Courthouse, he was captured in the fight at Hamo-
zine Church, April 6, and after that was a prisoner of war at
Point Lookout until June, 1865.

The War Between the States

369

ROSTER OF CAPE FEAR CAMP, IT. C. V.

Doubtless many examples of faithful, efficient, and ever
heroic service have been overlooked in the preparation of this
record, although diligent inquiries have been made in order that
it might be as nearly complete as possible. To this end I have
been permitted to copy the roster of Cape Fear Camp, U. C. V.,
although it may be said that it comprises only a part of that
great number of Wilmington men who served the Confederacy
in the War between the States.

Alderman, Allison

*******
Alderman, G. F.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Atkinson, John W.

Colonel, 10th Va. Artillery Died Oct. 26, 1910.

Baldwin, A. M.

Private, Co. K, 40th N. C

Barry, John

Sergeant, Co. E, 1st N. C Died Mar. 28, 1914.

Bear, Solomon

Private, Howard’s Cavalry Died Feb. 24, 1904.

Bellamy, W. J. H.

Private, Co. I, 18th N. C Died Nov. 18, 1911.

Belden, Louis S.

Sergeant, Co. E, 10th N. C Died June 8, 1914.

Bernard, W. H.

Private, Co. H, Bethel Regiment

Bishop, C. W.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Bishop, H. M.

Private, Co. H, 3d N. C

Blackwell, Rev. C. S.

Sergeant, Co. F, 2d Va Removed to Norfolk, Va.

Blanks, William

Non-Commissioned, Staff, 61st N. C Died Feb. 26, 1904.

Bolles, C. P.

Captain, P. A. C. S Died 1910 or 1911.

Boatwright, J. L.

Captain, P. A. C. S

Boatwright, J. H.

Private, 1st Bat. S. C. Cadets Died Jan. 27, 1911.

Boney, G. J.

Corporal, Co. H, 40th N. C

Bowden, W. B.

Private, Co. H, 3d Cavalry Died Mar. 15, 1903.

Brown, A. D.

Lieutenant, Co. C, Cumming’s Battery

Brown, E. A.

Private, Co. C, 4th Artillery Died June 26, 1905.

370

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Brown, George L.

Hart’s Battery, Va Sent to Richmond 1909

Brown, I. H.

Private, Co. K, 3d N. C .Died May 5, 1892

Brown, T. A.

Sergeant, 36th N. C Died Aug. 14, 1902

Bunting, T. O.

Private, Co. C, 5th Cavalry Died June 20, 1913

Burr, Ancrum

Lieutenant, Co. D, 36th N. C Removed

Burr, James G.

Colonel, 7th Batt. H. G Died Nov. 13, 1898

Calder, William

Adjutant, 1st Batt. Artillery

Cantwell, J. L.

Colonel, 51st N. C Died Dec. 21, 1909

Capps, T. J.

Corporal, Co. E, 3d N. C

Carman, Samuel

Private, Co. E, 56th N. C Died Apr. 17, 1902

Carmichael, Rev. James

Chaplain, 30th Va Died Nov. 25, 1911

Cazaux, A. D.

Captain, A. Q. M., 18th N. C

Chadwick, Robert

Private, Co. K, 3d N. C

Chapman, Louis

Private, Co. D, 2d Cavalry

Cobb, John G.

Private, Co. C, 1st Batt. Artillery

Collier, Sam P.

Sergeant Major, 2d N. C

Cook, A. B.

Sergeant, Co. I, 18th N. C Died Jan. 12, 1908

Corbett, R. A.

Private, Co. C, 4th Cavalry

Cornish, F. W.

Private, Co. H, 51st N. C

Cornish, W. A.

Private, Co. H, 18th N. C

Cowan, M. S.

Captain, Co. I, 3d N. C .Died Mar. 24, 1900

Cowles, Charles L.

Captain, Co. B, 56th N. C Died Oct. 9, 1901

Cox, R. E.

Private, Co. B, S. C. Cavalry

Crapon, George M.

Lieutenant, Co. H, 3d N. C

Crow, J. E.

Sergeant, Co. E, 12th Va Died Nov. 4, 1907

Cumming, J. D.

Captain, Cumming’s Battery Died Nov. 26, 1901

Cumming, Preston

Sergeant, Cumming’s Battery

Currie, John H.

Private, 5th Cavalry To Fayetteville Camp

The War Between the States

371

Casteen, J. B.

Orderly Sergeant, Co. D, 3d N. C

Private, Co. G, 20th N. C. .

Cannon, J. W.

* * *

Cannon, Alfred
* *

* *

Private, Co. F, 67th N. C . .

Cox, T. B.

* * *

Cox, A. F.

* *

Major, P. A. C. S

Daves, Graham

, .Resigned, Feb. 1,

1890.

Sergeant, Co. K, 5th N. C. .

Davis, Jackson

1902.

Corporal, Co. E, 10th N. C..

Davis, Junius

Died April 11, 1916.

Private, Co. A, 35th N. C. .

Davis, M. T.

Captain, P. A. C. S

DeRosset, A. L.

Died Feb.,

1910.

DeRosset, William L.
Colonel, 3d N. C

1910.

Private, Co. D, 3d N. C

Dickey, J. J.

1911.

Private, Co. E, 10th N. C. . .

Dicksey, J. W.

Captain, A. Q. M., C. S. A. .

Divine, J. F.

Died Aug. 20, 1909.

Private, Co. G, 10th N. C. .

Dixon, W. M.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C.. .

Dowdy, W. R.

Died Dec. 19,

1911.

Goldsboro Provost Guard .

Darden, R. J.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C. ..

Elliott, W. P.

Died May 20,

1894.

Evans, A. H.

1912.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C. . .

Everett, John A.

Lieutenant, Co. A, 43d N. C

Farrior, S. R.

Private, Co. E, 10th N. C. . .

Farrow, J. A.

1911.

Farrow, Benjamin

Private, Co. E, 10th N. C

Died Oct. 14,

1911.

Lieutenant, Co. C, 1st N. C.

Fennell, Owen

1910.

Corporal, Co. A, 40th N. C.

Fillyaw, DeLeon

1904.

Private, Co. A, 40th N. C. .

Fillyaw, O. M.

Private, Co. E, 51st N. C . .

French, W. R.

Surgeon, 28th N. C

Gaither, W. W.

372

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Ganzer, C. H.

Private, Howard’s Cavalry Died May 22, 1899.

Garrell, Jacob P.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C • Died May 29, 1891.

Giles, Clayton

Private, Co. I, 63d Ga. Volunteers

Giles, Norwood

Private, Co. E, 10th N. C Died Dec. 11, 1899.

Goodman, William

Private, Co. A, 1st Batt. Artillery Died Apr. 3, 1911.

Gore, D. L.

Private, Co. D, 72d N. C

Gray, Jesse W.

Private, Co. B, 3d Cavalry Died Apr. 18, 1911.

Green, W. H.

Sergeant Major, Starr’s Battery Died Jan. 12, 1914.

Hall, B. F.

Sergeant, Co. A, 43d N. C

Hall, E. D.

Colonel, 46th N. C Died June 11, 1896.

Hall, S. G.

Private, Co. E, 21st N. C Died July 31, 1911.

Hamme, R. F.

Private, Co. G, 30th N. C

Hanby, John H.

Private, Co. B, 16th Va Died Apr. 22, 1910.

Hanby, Joseph H.

Private, Co. B, 16th Va Died Sept. 8, 1905.

Hancock, J. T.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Hankins, J. A.

Private, Co. C, Starr’s Battery Died July, 1910.

Hankins, A. G.

Lieutenant, Co. H, 3d Cavalry

Hankins, W. M.

Private, Co. H, 3d Cavalry

Harper, John H.

Private, Co. H, 3d N. C Died

Harriss, W. W.

Assistant Surgeon Died.

Hawkins, J. W.

Private, Co. A, 1st Batt. Artillery

Hayden, P, H.

Private, Co. C, 19th Va Died

Heide, A. S.

Private, Co. A, 5th Cavalry Resigned Feb. 4, 1901.

Heide, R. E.

Private, Co. H, 1st N. C Died June 13, 1905.

Heinsberger, P.

Private, Co. C, Starr’s Battery

Henderson, T. B.

Lieutenant, Co. H, 3d Cavalry Died Mar. 10, 1890.

Hewett, James H.

Sergeant, Co. F, 3d N. C Died Mar. 20, 1913.

Hicks, James H.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C Died Nov. 9, 1908.

The War Between the States

373

Hill, A. J.

Sergeant, Co. C, 4th Cavalry

Hill, Owen C.

Private, Co. G, 3d N. C

Hines, John W.

Private, Co. D, 3d N. C

Hodges, L. W.

Private, 16th Va

Hodges, T. A.

Company E, 15th Batt. Artillery

Huggins, George W.

Lieutenant, Co. I, 18th N. C

Huggins, J. B.

Captain, A. Q. M., C. S. A

Hawes, J. J.

Sergeant, Co. G, 20th N. C

James, Josh T.

Lieutenant, Co. I, 18th N. C.

Jewett, Stephen

Private, Co. K, 44th Ga

Jones, George T.

Lieutenant, Co. E, 50th N. C

Keeter, Elijah

Private, Co. D, 3d N. C

Kelly, D. C.

Private, Co. B, 36th N. C

Kelly, James E.

Private, Co. K, 20th N. C

Kenly, John R.

Private, Co. A, 1st Md. Cavalry

Kenan, W. R.

Adjutant, 43d N. C

King, Charles H.

Q. M. Sergeant, 61st N. C

King, James A.

Private, Co. A, 3d Cavalry

King, James A.

Private, Co. B, 10th N. C

King, James M.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C

King, John M.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

King, T. E.

Sergeant, Co. I, 10th N. C

King, W. H.

Private, Co. A, 3d Cavalry

Latta, John R.

Adjutant, 51st N. C.

Lee, J. B.

* * * * *

Leon, L.

Private, Co. C, 1st N. C

Leslie, Alexander

Private, Co. G, 18th N. C

Leslie, Joseph H.

Private, Co. G, 18th N. C

. .Died

Died Sept. 2, 1904.
.Died Feb. 27, 1906.

. .Died May 16, 1910.

Died Nov. 13, 1899.

Died

Died Nov. 2, 1910.

Died Apr. 14, 1903.
.Died 1909 or 1910.

. .Died Dec., 1912.
Died Dec. 1, 1911.

Died June 30, 1898.
* *

Died Sept. 13, 1896.

374

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Lewis, Thomas C.

Captain, Co. I, 18th N. C Died Nov. 14, 1909.

Lippitt, Thomas B.

Lieutenant, Co. G, 51st N. C Died Dec. 21, 1898.

Littleton, D. C.

Private, Co. H, 41st N. C

Loftin, Dr. I. C. M.

Company E, 20th M Died

Love, Richard S.

Sergeant, Co. C, 4th Cavalry .Died

Love, Thaddeus D.

Major, 24th N. C Died Jan. 6, 1892.

Lumsden, H. C.

Private, Co. E, 1st N. C

MacRae, W. G.

Captain, Co. C, 7th N. C

Manning, E. W.

Chief Engineer, C. S. N Died Dec. 10, 1900.

Martin, E. S.

Lieutenant, 1st Batt. Artillery

Marshall, J. R.

Private, Co. E, 3d N. C

Mason, W. H.

Private, Co. E, 3d N. C

Matthews, D. W.

Private, Co. C, 1st Batt. Artillery

Matthews, J. E.

Sergeant, Sharpshooters Dropped by request, Apr. 9, 1910.

Meares, O. P.

Lieutenant Colonel, 18th N. C Died Nov. 21, 1906.

Meares, T. D.

Courier to Gen. Wade Hampton

Merritt, Joseph

Private, 18th N. C Died Aug. 12, 1904.

Merritt, L. W.

*******

Metts, J. I.

Captain, Co. G, 3d N. C

Mitchell, Frank H.

Private, Co. I, 18th N. C Died Feb. 28, 1899.

Mintz, W. W.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C Died Sept. 15, 1897.

Montgomery, James A.

Private, Co. B, 36th N. C

Moore, Benjamin R.

Lieutenant Colonel, Gen. Bates’s Staff Died Apr. 12, 1894.

Moore, E. H.

Lieutenant, Co. D, 7th N. C

Moore, Edward J.

Sergeant, Co. G, 18th N. C Died May 12, 1891.

Moore, Roger

Lieutenant Colonel, 3d N. C Died Apr. 21, 1900.

Moore, W. A.

Private, Co. K, 36th N. C Died Apr. 25, 1906.

Moore, W. H.

Private, Co. A, 1st Cavalry

The War Between the States

375

Morton, Rev. P. C.

Chaplain, 23d Ya Died Feb. 28, 1903.

Mott, A. J.

Private, Co. G, 61st N. C

Munn, D.

Captain, Co. B, 36th N. C Died Feb., 1905

Myers, Charles D.

Captain, P. A. C. S Died Oct. 2, 1892

Myrry, R. S.

*******
McClammy, Charles W.

Major, 3d Cavalry Died Feb. 26, 1896

McClammy, Charles W.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C Died Nov. 19, 1900

McEvoy, John

Lieutenant, Co. A, 2d N. C Died Nov. 21, 1896

McGirt, A. G.

Private, Co. D, 46th N. C Died Aug. 22, 1890

McGowan, James M.

Captain, A. Q. M Died June 20, 1903

McIntyre, R. M.

Captain, Co. C, 4th Cavalry Died Apr. 17, 1913

Mclver, J. T.

Private, Co. G, 48th N. C Died Feb. 24, 1907

McKeithan, R. W.

Corporal, Co. E, 10th N. C

McKoy, T. Hall

Major Lane’s Staff Died May 10, 1902

McMillan, W. D.

Sergeant Major, 51st N. C

McQueen, H. C.

Private, Co. D, 1st Batt. Artillery

Nobles, S. W.

Captain, Co. K, 61st N. C Died Feb. 16, 1904

Northrop, W. H.

Captain, A. Q. M., 3d N. C

Oldham, William P.

Captain, Co. K, 44th N. C

Ormsby, James O.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Ortman, F. W.

Private, Co. A, 25th S. C Died Apr. 22, 1911

Pearce, E. L.

Captain, Co. E, 26th Ga Died

Percy, A. B.

Lieutenant, Co. F, 56th Regiment Died Oct. 13, 1893

Pickett, J. H.

Private, Co. B, 1st Batt. Artillery

Pinner, J. L.

Private, Co. A, 1st Batt. Artillery

Poisson, J. D.

Sergeant, Co. G., 18th N. C Died Jan. 11, 1911

Porter, Elijah

Captain, Co. E, 3d N. C Died July 1, 1907

Potter, Dr. F. W.

Surgeon, 50th N. C Died June 1, 1893

376

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Pratt, D.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Prempert, H. C.

Sergeant, Co. H, 2d N. C

Price, Joseph

Commander, C. S. N

Price, R. W.

Private, Co. D, 72d N. C

Primrose, John W.

Captain, A. C. S., 1st Cavalry

Rankin, R. G.

Private, Co. A, 1st Batt. Artillery

Rankin, J. T.

Lieutenant, Co. D, 1st Batt. Artillery

Reaves, Calvin

Private, Co. G, 61st N. C

Reaves, J. F. A.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C

Reaves, R. M.

Private, Co. E, 18th N. C

Rivenbark, W. W.

Private, Co. F, 20th N. C

Roberts, B. M.

Private, Co. C, 13th Battery

Robinson, Charles H.

Quartermaster, 31st N. C

Rogers, J. M.

Private, Co. B, 1st Batt. Artillery

Ruark, J. H.

Sergeant, Co. F, 3d N. C

Russell, B. R.

Assistant Engineer, C. S. N

Savage, Henry

Captain, Co. G, 18th N. C

Scharf, E.

Private, 1st Batt. Ala. Cavalry

Schenck, N. W.

Captain, A. C. S

Schriver, Eli

Private, Co. H, 3d N. C. Cavalry

Sharp, John H.

Private, 13th Batt. Va. Artillery

Shepard, Dr. J. C.

Assistant Surgeon, C. S. A

Shepard, T. A.

Lieutenant, Co. G, 18th N. C

Shutte, John T.

Corporal, Starr’s Battery

Sikes, R. J.

Private, Co. H, 3d N. C

Skipper, Joshua G.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Smith, H. H.

Lieutenant, Co. A, 5th N. C

Smith, Rev. J. A.

Private, Co. I, N, C. Artillery

Died

, . . .Died Sept. 17, 1896.

Died May 15, 1895.

. . . .Died Nov. 25, 1909.
Resigned Dec. 29, 1890.
. . . .Died June 28, 1913.

Died June 27, 1908.

Died Nov. 25, 1904.
. .Died Feb. 4, 1903.

Died Dec. 15, 1906.

Died Aug. 1, 1904.

Removed to New York.

Died Mar. 4, 1903.

Died July 5, 1899.

Removed to New York.

.Died Dec. 18, 1904.
Died Aug. 24, 1908.

The War Between the States

377

Smith, M. K.

Private, Co. D, 72d N. C

Smith, Peter H.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C

Smith, T. Jefferson.

Sneeden, S. J.

Private, Co. A, 3d N. C

Died Dec. 7, 1910.

Southerland, D. D.

Private, Co. I, 10th N. C

Southerland, T. J.

Captain, Co. I, 10th N. C

...Died Feb. 18, 1891.

Spooner, W. T.

Company F, 3d N. C

Stedman, C. M.

Major, 44th N. C

Stevenson, J. C.

Private, Co. A, 36th N. C

Stevenson, W. M.

Captain, Co. B, 61st N. C

Stolter, Henry

Private, Co. A, 18th N. C

Died Oct. 5, 1896.

Stolter, John F.

Private, Co. A, 18th N. C.

....Died Dec. 27, 1903.

Story, S. A.

Private, Co. 1, 10th N. C

Sutton, D. M.

Private, Co. K, 18th N. C

Swain, S. A.

Private, Co. C, 1st Batt. Artillery

. . . .Died Feb. 11, 1899.

Sykes, Thomas P.

Private, 3d N. C. Cavalry

Taylor, James H.

Adjutant, 51st N. C

Taylor, John D.

Lieutenant Colonel, 36th N. C

. .. .Died May 21, 1912.

Taylor, J. J.

Private, Co. H, 3d Cavalry

Taylor, Lewis

Private, Co. B, 1st Batt. Artillery

.Died Oct. 8, 1912.

Taylor, M. P.

Tilley, George F.

Private, Co. H, 18th N. C

Turrentine, J. R.

Hart’s Battery, Light Artillery

Ulmer, J. H.

Van Amringe, Stacy

Captain, Co. G, 61st N. C

Died Jan. 2, 1897.

Voss, John G.

Private, Co. A, 18th N. C

....Died July 19, 1890.

Waddell, A. M.

Lieutenant Colonel, 3d N. C

....Died Mar. 17, 1912.

Walker, J. Alvis

Private, Co. E, 2d Eng., C. S. A

. . . .Died Sept. 29, 1912.

378

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Walker, John M.

Orderly Sergeant, Co. F, 2d N. C. Batt. Artillery

Walker, J. P.

Private, Co. E, 18th N. C Died 1909 or 1910.

Wallace, J. P.

Color Corporal, Co. C, 51st N. C Died Oct., 1911.

Ward, C. H.

Private, Co. G, 10th N. C

Warrock, E. S.

Corporal, Ga. Artillery Removed.

Warrock W. S.

Captain, Co. B, 1st Ala. Cavalry Died Mar. 19, 1900.

Watkins, L. A.

Private, Co. D, 5th N. C. Batt. Artillery

Watson, Rt. Rev. A. A.

Chaplain, 2d N. C Died Apr. 21, 1905.

Watson, A. W.

Private, Co. F, 7th N. C

Weill, Abram

Medical Department

West, John W.

Sergeant, Co. D, 36th N. C

White, B. F.

Lieutenant, Co. I, 18th N. C

Wiggs, Alexander W.

Sergeant, Co. D, 36th N. C

Wiggins, O. A.

Captain, Co. E, 36th N. C

Wilder, Jesse

Lieutenant, Co. C, 4th Cavalry

Wilkins, W. L.

Corporal, Co. F, 3d N. C

Williams, George W.

Private, Co. F, 3d N. C

Williams, J. A.

Private, Co. G, 3d N. C. Cavalry

Williams, J. R.

Sergeant, Co. H, S. C. V

Wood, Dr. Thomas F.

Assistant Surgeon, 3d N. C

Woodcock, George W.

Lieutenant, Co. E, 18th N. C

Woodcock, Henry M.

Private, Co. E, 18th N. C

Woodward, W. J.

Private, Co. H, 1st N. C

Wooten, Edward

Lieutenant, Co. B, 5th Cavalry

Wright, Joshua G.

Lieutenant, Co. E, 1st N. C

Withdrawn.

Died June 23, 1903.

Died Aug. 30, 1906.

Resigned May 10, 1902.

Died Aug. 31, 1908.

. .Died Aug. 22, 1895.
. .Died Feb. 10, 1896.
Removed to Georgia.
...Died Oct. 11, 1907.

Withdrawn.

. .Died Dec. 30, 1900.

Company E, 3d Cavalry

Yates, C. W.
Yopp, F. V. B.

Lieutenant, Co. G, 51st N. C.

Died Dec. 29, 1894.

The War Between the States

379

POET CASWELL.

The work at Fort Caswell at the mouth of the Cape Fear
Kiver was commenced by the government in the year 1826.
Maj. George Blaney, of the United States Engineer Corps, was
in charge of it for several years until his death at Smithville in
1836 or 1837. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was
an accomplished officer. His remains were brought to Wilming-
ton, and the Wilmington Volunteers, a uniformed company and
the only one then existing in the town, formed at Market Street
dock to receive them, and escorted them to the old burial ground
adjoining St. James’s Church, where they were interred with
military honors and where they still repose.

Major Blaney’s assistant in building the fort was Mr. James
Ancrum Berry, a native of Wilmington, a natural engineer, the
bent of whose mind was strongly mathematical. He was thor-
oughly competent for the position he held, and took great pride
in the work — so much so, indeed, that he had a small house
erected on the river front of the fort and resided there with his
family for a year or two until the encroaching waters rendered
his habitation untenable, when he returned to Smithville. He
died suddenly in 1832. He was hunting with the late Mr. John
Brown, and, while crossing a small stream on a log, lost his
footing and his gun came in contact with the log and was dis-
charged, the contents entering his brain, killing him almost
instantly. He was an honorable gentleman, high-toned, chival-
ric, and was greatly mourned.

It is probable that Capt. A. J. Swift, son of the distinguished
chief of the Engineer Corps, Gen. Joseph Swift, succeeded
Major Blaney. It is known that he had charge of the works at
the mouth of the river for quite a long time, and it is believed
they were finished under his supervision.

Captain Swift was regarded as one of the ablest engineer
officers in the army and, though dying quite young, left behind
him a reputation second to none in that branch of the service.

It is a remarkable fact that, notwithstanding its exposed posi-
tion to the Federal fleet, no general engagement occurred at Fort
Caswell during the four years’ war. The fort was of great serv-
ice, however, in defending the Main Bar and the garrison at
Smithville, although the fighting was confined to an occasional
artillery duel with the United States blockading fleet.

380

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The defenses of Oak Island during the War between the
States were composed of Forts Caswell and Campbell, the latter
a large earth fort situated about one mile down the beach from
Fort Caswell, and Battery Shaw, with some other small works,
all at the close of the war under the command of Col. Charles H.
Simonton. With Colonel Simonton were the following members
of his staff: Capt. E. S. Martin, chief of ordnance and artillery;
Capt. Booker Jones, commissary; Capt. H. C. Whiting, quarter-
master, and Captain Booker, assistant adjutant general.

Fort Fisher fell about nine o’clock Sunday night, January 15,
1865, and by midnight orders had been received at Fort Caswell
to send the garrisons of that fort and Fort Campbell down the
beach and into the woods before daylight in order to conceal
them from the F ederal fleet. The troops were immediately with-
drawn from the forts, and under cover of darkness marched
away. Orders were also received to spike the guns in those two
forts and destroy the ammunition as far as possible. Accord-
ingly, during Monday, the 16th of January, the chief of ord-
nance and artillery, Capt. E. S. Martin, was employed with the
ordnance force of the forts in carrying out this order, preparing
to burn the barracks — large wooden structures built outside and
around Fort Caswell — and to blow up the magazines.

About one o’clock on the morning of Tuesday, January IT,
the order came to evacuate and blow up the magazines. There-
upon Col. C. H. Simonton, Lieut. Col. John D. Taylor, and
Capt. Booker Jones, who had remained up to this time, de-
parted, leaving Captain Martin to destroy the barracks and
forts. The buildings without the fort and the citadel within
were at once set on fire and were soon blazing from bottom to
top. Trains had been laid during the day to each of the seven
magazines at Fort Caswell and the five magazines at Fort Camp-
bell, and under the lurid glare of the burning buildings the
match was applied to the trains, and magazine after magazine
exploded with terrific report. One of the magazines in Fort
Caswell contained nearly one hundred thousand pounds of pow-
der, and when it exploded the volume of sound seemed to rend
the very heavens, while the earth trembled, the violence of the
shock being felt in Wilmington, thirty miles distant, and even
at Fayetteville, more than one hundred miles away. The sight
was grand beyond description. Amidst this sublime and im-
pressive scene the flag at Fort Caswell was for the last time
hauled down. It was carried away by Captain Martin, who,

The War Between the States

381

with his men, silently departed, the last to leave the old fort,
which for four long years of war had so effectually guarded the
main entrance to the river.

FORT FISHER.

Col. William Lamb, who was in command of Fort Fisher, in
his admirable report of its defense, says :

“The indentation of the Atlantic Ocean in the Carolina coast
known as Onslow Bay and the Cape Fear River, running south
from Wilmington, form the peninsula known as Federal Point,
which during the Civil War was called Confederate Point.
Hot quite seven miles north of the end of this peninsula stood
a high sandhill called the ‘Sugar Loaf.’ Here there was an
intrenched camp for the army of Wilmington under Gen. Brax-
ton Bragg, the department commander, that was hid from the
sea by forest and sandhills. From this intrenched camp the
river bank, with a neighboring ridge of sand-dunes, formed a
covered way for troops to within a hundred yards of the left
salient of Fort Fisher. Between the road and the ocean beach
was an arm of Masonhoro Sound, and where it ended, three
miles north of the fort, were occasional fresh-water swamps,
generally wooded with scrub growth and in many cases quite
impassable. Along the ocean shore was an occasional battery
formed from a natural sandhill, behind which Whitworth guns
were carried from the fort to cover belated blockade runners or
to protect more unfortunate ones that had been chased ashore.

“About half a mile north of the fort there was a rise in the
plain, forming a hill some twenty feet above the tide on the
river side, and on this was a redoubt commanding the approach
to the fort by the river road. Thus nature, assisted by some
slight engineering work, had given a defense to Confederate
Point which would have enabled an efficient commander at the
intrenched camp, cooperating with the garrison of Fort Fisher,
to render the point untenable for a largely superior force at
night, when the covering fire of the Federal Havy could not
distinguish between friend and foe.”

The plans of Fort Fisher were Colonel Lamb’s, and as the
work progressed they were approved by Generals French,
Raines, Longstreet, Beauregard, and Whiting. It was styled by
Federal engineers the “Malakoff of the South.” It was built

382

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

solely with the view of resisting the fire of a fleet, and it stood
uninjured, except as to armament, in two of the fiercest bom-
bardments the world ever witnessed. The two faces to the works
were 2,580 yards long. The land face was 682 yards long, and
the sea face 1,898 yards long.

The Land Face of Fort Fisher. j

At the land face of Fort Fisher the peninsula was about half
a mile wide. This face commenced about one hundred feet
from the river with a half bastion, and extended with a heavy
curtain to a full bastion on the ocean side, where it joined the
sea face. The work was built to withstand the heaviest artillery
fire. There was no moat with scarp and counterscarp, so essen-
tial for defense against storming parties, the shifting sands ren-
dering such a construction impossible with the material avail-
able.

The outer slope was twenty feet high and was sodded with
marsh grass, which grew luxuriantly. The parapet was not less
than twenty-five feet thick, with an inclination of only one foot.
The revetment was five feet nine inches high from the floor of
the gun chambers, and these were some twelve feet or more from
the interior plane. The guns were all mounted in barbette on
Columbiad carriages, there being no casemated gun in the fort.
There were twenty heavy guns on the land face, each gun
chamber containing one or two guns, and there were heavy
traverses, exceeding in size any before known to engineers, to
protect from an enfilading fire. They extended out some twelve
feet or more in height above the parapet, running back thirty
feet or more. The gun chambers were reached from the rear
by steps. In each traverse was an alternate magazine or bomb-
proof, the latter ventilated by an air chamber. The passage-
ways penetrated traverses in the interior of the work, forming
additional bombproofs for the reliefs of the guns.

As a defense against infantry, there was a system of subter-
ranean torpedoes extending across the peninsula, five to six hun-
dred feet from the land face, and so disconnected that the explo-
sion of one would not affect the others; inside the torpedoes,
about fifty feet from the berm of the work, extending from river
bank to seashore, was a heavy palisade of sharpened logs nine
feet high, pierced for musketry, and so laid out as to have an
enfilading fire on the center, where there was a redoubt guarding

382

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The Land Face of Fort Fisher. 4

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The War Between the States

383

a sally-port, from which two Napoleons were run out as occasion
required. At the river end of the palisade was a deep and
muddy slough, across which was a bridge, the entrance of the
river road into the fort; commanding this bridge was a Napo-
leon gun. There were three mortars in the rear of the land face.

The Sea Face of Fort Fisher.

The sea face, for one hundred yards from the northwest
bastion, was of the same massive character as the land face. A
crescent battery intended for four guns joined this, but it was
converted into a hospital bombproof. In the rear a heavy cur-
tain was thrown up to protect the chamber from fragments of
shells. From the bombproof a series of batteries extended for
three-quarters of a mile along the sea, connected by an infantry
curtain. These batteries had heavy traverses, but were not more
than ten or twelve feet high to the top of the parapets, and were
built for ricochet firing. On the line was a bombproof electric
battery connected with a system of submarine torpedoes. Far-
ther along, where the channel ran close to the beach, inside the
bar, a mound battery sixty feet high was erected, with two heavy
guns which had a plunging fire on the channel; this was con-
nected with a battery north of it by a light curtain. Following
the line of the works, it was over one mile from the mound to
the northeast bastion at the angle of the sea and land faces, and
upon this line twenty-four heavy guns were mounted. From the
mound for nearly one mile to the end of Confederate Point, was
a level sand plain scarcely three feet above high tide, and much
of it was submerged during gales. At the point was Battery
Buchanan, four guns, in the shape of an ellipse commanding
New Inlet, its two 11-inch guns covering the approach by land.
An advanced redoubt with a 24-pounder was added after the
attack by the forces on the 25th of December, 1864. A wharf
for large steamers was in close proximity to these works. Bat-
tery Buchanan was a citadel to which an overpowered garrison
might retreat and with proper transportation be safely carried
off at night, and to which reinforcements could be sent under
the cover of darkness.

The Fort Fisher Fight.

General Whiting, in his official report of the taking of Fort
Fisher on the night of the 15th of January, 1865, after an as-

384

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sault of unprecedented fury, both by sea and land, lasting from
Friday morning until Sunday night, says:

“On Thursday night the enemy’s fleet was reported off the
fort. On Friday morning the fleet opened very heavily. On
Friday and Saturday, during the furious bombardment of the
fort, the enemy was allowed to land without molestation and to
throw up a light line of field-works from Battery Ramseur to
the river, thus securing his position from molestation and mak-
ing the fate of Fort Fisher, under the circumstances, but a
question of time.

“On Sunday, the fire on the fort reached a pitch of fury to
which no language can do justice. It was concentrated on the
land face and front. In a short time nearly every gun was dis-
mounted or disabled, and the garrison suffered severely by the
fire. At three o’clock the enemy’s land force, which had been
gradually and slowly advancing, formed in two columns for
assault. The garrison, during the fierce bombardment, was not
able to stand to the parapets, and many of the reinforcements
were obliged to be kept a great distance from the fort. As the
enemy slackened his fire to allow the assault to take place, the
men hastily manned the ramparts and gallantly repulsed the
right column of assault. A portion of the troops on the left had
also repulsed the first rush to the left of the work. The greater
portion of the garrison being, however, engaged on the right, and
not being able to man the entire works, the enemy succeeded in
making a lodgment on the left flank, planting two of his regi-
mental flags in the traverses. From this point we could not dis-
lodge him, our own traverses protecting him from the fire of our
most distant guns. From this time it was a succession of fight-
ing from traverse to traverse, and from line to line until nine
o’clock at night, when we were overpowered and all resistance
ceased.

“The fall both of the general and the colonel commanding the
fort — one about four and the other about four-thirty o’clock
p. m. — had a perceptible effect upon the men, and no doubt
hastened greatly the result; but we were overpowered, and no
skill or gallantry could have saved the place after the enemy
effected a lodgment, except attack in the rear. The enemy’s loss
was very heavy, and so, also, was our own. Of the latter, as a
prisoner, I have not been able to ascertain.

“At nine o’clock, p. m., the gallant Major Reilly, who had

The War Between the States

385

fought the fort after the fall of his superiors, reported the
enemy in possession of the sally-port. The brave Captain Van
Benthuysen, of the marines, though himself badly wounded,
with a squad of his men picked up the general and the colonel
and endeavored to make his way to Battery Buchanan, followed
by Reilly, with the remnant of the forces. On reaching there, it
was found to be evacuated, by whose order and by what author-
ity I know not. No boats were there. The garrison of Fort
Fisher had been coolly abandoned to its fate. Thus fell Fort
Fisher after three days7 battle unparalleled in the annals of the
war. Nothing was left but to await the approach of the enemy,
who took us about 10 p. m. The fleet surpassed its tremendous
efforts in the previous attack. The fort had fallen in precisely
the manner indicated so often by myself, and to which your
attention has been so frequently called, and in the presence of
the ample force provided by you to meet the contingency.77

Colonel Lamb, in his report, says he had half a mile of land
face to defend with 1,900 men. He knew every company pres-
ent and its strength. This included the killed, wounded, and
sick.

To capture Fort Fisher, the enemy lost, by their own state-
ment, 1,445 killed, wounded, and missing. Nineteen hundred
Confederates with 44 guns contended against 10,000 men on
shore and 600 heavy guns afloat, killing and wounding almost
as many of the enemy as there were soldiers in the fort, and not
surrendering until the last shot was expended.

The garrison consisted of two companies of the Tenth North
Carolina under Major Reilly; the Thirty-sixth North Carolina,
Col. William Lamb, ten companies; four companies of the For-
tieth North Carolina; Company D, First North Carolina Artil-
lery Battalion ; Company C, Third North Carolina Artillery
Battalion; Company I), Thirteenth North Carolina Artillery
Battalion, and the naval detachment under Captain Van Ben-
thuysen.

General Whiting had been assigned to no duty by General
Bragg, although it was his right to command the supporting
troops. He determined to go to the fort and share its fate. The
commander, Colonel Lamb, offered to relinquish the control, but
General Whiting declined to take away the glory of the defense
from him. He remained with him, however, and fought as a
volunteer. It is related that during the fight, when one hundred

386

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

immense projectiles per minute1 were being hurled at the fort,
General Whiting was seen “standing with folded arms, smiling
upon a 400-pound shell, as it lay smoking and spinning like
a billiard ball on the sand, not twenty feet away, until it burst,
and he then moved quietly away.” During the fight General
Whiting saw the Federal flag planted on the traverses. Call-
ing on the troops to follow him, they fought hand to hand with
clubbed muskets, and one traverse was taken. Just as he was
climbing the other, and had his hand upon the Federal flag to
tear it down, he fell, receiving two wounds. Colonel Lamb, a
half-hour later, fell with a desperate wound through the hip.
The troops fought on. Lamb, in the hospital, found voice
enough, though faint unto death, to say: “I will not surren-

der” ; and Whiting, lying among the surgeons near by, re-
sponded: “Lamb, if you die, I will assume command, and I
will never surrender.”

After the fort was captured and General Whiting was made
prisoner, he was taken to Fort Columbus, on Governor’s Island,
and there died, March 10, 1865. The fearless defender of the
last stand at Fort Fisher, Maj. James Reilly, in after years
lived not far from the scene of his exploits until his death,
November 5, 1894.

iRear-Admiral Porter’s official report of the second attack on Fort
Fisher contains the following statement: “We expended in the bom-

bardment about 50,000 shells,” but in commenting on this the compil-
ers of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the
War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Vol. XI, p. 441, say “An examination of
reports and logs shows that in the first attack on Fort Fisher by the
Federal fleet there were expended 20,271 projectiles, weighing 1,275,299
pounds. In the second attack there were expended 19,682 projectiles,
weight, 1,652,638 pounds. It is estimated that the above statement
includes between 90 and 95 per cent of the projectiles actually
expended.”

Blockade Running

FINANCIAL ESTIMATES OF BLOCKADE
KUNNING.

Some idea of the magnitude of the blockade-running interests
involving the Cape Fear alone may be gathered from Badeau’s
statement that “in little more than a year before the capture of
Fort Fisher, the ventures of British capitalists and speculators
with Wilmington alone had amounted to sixty-six million dol-
lars in gold, and sixty-five million dollars worth of cotton in gold
had been exported in return.”

In the same period 397 steamers had run the blockade at Wil-
mington. Bidpath says that the number of prizes of blockade
runners made during the four years’ war was 1,504 vessels
captured, stranded, or destroyed.

Admiral Porter, who directed the naval operations against
Fort Fisher, says that a telegraphic dispatch from General Lee
to Colonel Lamb at Fort Fisher was captured which read as
follows: “If Fort Fisher falls, I shall have to evacuate Rich-

mond.”

In “Tales of the Cape Fear Blockade,” published in the
North Carolina Booklet , February 10, 1902, page 20, under the
caption “Financial Estimates,” the writer said :

I have not been able to obtain an approximate estimate of
the value of supplies brought by blockade runners into the
Confederacy during the four years’ war, nor the amount of the
losses by shipowners who failed to make a successful voyage
through the Federal fleet. I have, however, carefully computed
the actual sum realized by the United States Government from
public sales of prizes, recorded by Admiral Porter in his Naval
History of the Civil War, which aggregates $21,759,595.05; to
which may reasonably he added $10,000,000 for prizes to my
knowledge not included in this report, and $10,000,000 more
for valuable ships and cargoes stranded or destroyed by design
or accident while attempting to escape from the blockading
squadron. This total of $42,000,000 represents only a part, per-
haps one-half, of the capital invested. Many successful steamers
ran up their profits into millions. A steamer carrying 1,000

[387]

388

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

bales of cotton sometimes realized a profit of a quarter of a mil-
lion dollars on the inward and outward run within two weeks.
Cotton could he purchased in the Confederacy for three cents
per pound in gold, and sold in England at the equivalent of
forty-five cents to one dollar a pound, and the profits on some
classes of goods brought into the- Confederacy were in the same
proportion. It is probably within the bounds of truth to say
that the blockade-running traffic during the war, including the
cost of the ships, amounted to about one hundred and fifty mil-
lion dollars, gold standard.

The Confederate States steamer R. E. Lee , under Captain
Wilkinson, ran the blockade at Wilmington twenty-one times
and carried abroad nearly seven thousand bales of cotton, worth
at that time about two million dollars in gold ; and she also took
into the Confederacy equally valuable cargoes.

The steamer Siren , most successful of all, made sixty-four
runs through the blockade, and her profits ran into millions.

Montesquieu has said that it is not the number killed and
wounded in a battle that determines its general historical im-
portance, and Creasy, in Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World ,
from Marathon to Waterloo , says : “It is not because only a few
hundred fell in the battle by which Joan of Arc captured the
Tourelles and raised the seige of Orleans that the effect of that
crisis is to be judged.”

Napoleon said that an army moves upon its belly. The re-
sources of the Confederate Army commissariat, steadily de-
pleted by the incessant drain upon the food producers and by
the blockade of the Southern ports, were largely sustained dur-
ing the war by the successful blockade runners from the West
Indies to Wilmington, whence cargoes of increasing value were
immediately transported to our starving Confederates in the
field ; but when the multiplied arms of the new navy, like the
deadly tentacles of the octupus, reached into every hiding-place
of these fugitives of the sea, they gradually brought to an end,
in the capture of Fort Fisher, this wonderful epoch in our naval
and commercial history.

New Inlet, since closed by harbor and river improvements,
was more frequently used by the blockade runners than the
Main Bar, under the guns of Fort Caswell, It was protected
for four years by Fort Fisher, which commanded the last gate-
way between the Confederate States and the outside world.
Its capture, with the resulting loss of ail the Cape Fear Kiver

Blockade Running

389

defenses and Wilmington, the entrepot of the Confederacy,
effectually ended blockade running and compelled the subse-
quent surrender of the Confederate Army in the field.

It was, therefore, not the valor of the Federal or of the Con-
federate forces in the contest at Fort Fisher that made it most
memorable in the history of the war. It was the fatal blow to
the Confederate commissariat, the cutting off of supplies, the
starvation of Lee’s army, the closure of the last hope of the
Confederacy, which gives to the victory of Curtis, the gallant
leader of the Union forces at Fort Fisher, its lasting importance
as an historical event.

THE PORT OF WILMINGTON DURING THE WAR.

When Beauregard fired that fateful bombshell which burst
over Fort Sumter at half past four on the morning of April 12,
1861, it sent a thrill of dismay into every Southern port, and
panic-stricken master mariners hurriedly prepared their ships
for sea, and welcomed any wind that would blow them away
from the impending danger.

In a short time the Cape Fear was deserted, and the occupa-
tion of pilots and longshoremen was gone. At that time there
were sixty or seventy licensed bar and river pilots and appren-
tices, who had no thought of the rich harvest of golden sovereigns
which Fortune was to pour into their pockets in the strange
commerce of the beleaguered city that became the gateway of
the Southern Confederacy.

The Blockade.

On the nineteenth of April, 1861, President Lincoln declared
by proclamation a military and commercial blockade of our
Southern ports, which was supplemented by the proclamation
of the 27th of May to embrace the whole Atlantic coast from
the capes of Virginia to the mouth of the Rio Grande. This
was technically a “constructive,” or “paper,” blockade, inas-
much as the declaration of the great powers assembled in con-
gress at Paris, in 1856, removed all uncertainty as to the prin-
ciples upon which the adjudication of prize claims must pro-
ceed by declaring that “blockades, in order to be binding, must
be effective ; that is to say, must be maintained by a force suffi-
cient really to prevent access to the enemy’s coast.”

390 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

It was obviously impossible at that time for the Federal
Government to enforce a blockade of the Southern coast, meas-
uring 3,549 miles and containing 189 harbors, besides almost
innumerable inlets and sounds through which small craft might
easily elude the four United States warships then available for
service, the remaining 38 ships of war in commission being on
distant stations.

Measures were, therefore, taken by the Navy Department to
close the entrances of the most important Southern ports, notably
those of Charleston and Savannah, by sinking vessels loaded
with stone across the main channels or bars. Preparations were
also made on a more extensive plan to destroy the natural road-
steads of other Southern ports and harbors along the coast by
the same means ; but, although twenty-five vessels were sunk in
the smaller inlets, it does not appear that this novel method of
blockade was generally adopted.

In the meantime, urgent orders had been sent recalling from
foreign stations every available ship of war; and by December
of the same year the Secretary of the Navy had purchased and
armed 264 ships, which, with their 2,557 guns and 22,000 men,
rendered the “paper blockade” comparatively effective. A
sorry looking fleet it was as compared with our modern navies ;
ships, barks, schooners, sloops, tugs, passenger boats — anything
that would carry a gun, from the hoary type of Noah’s Ark to
the double-end ferry boat still conspicuous in New York waters.

“The blockading fleet,” says Judge Advocate Cowley, “was
divided into two squadrons; the Atlantic Blockading Squadron
of 22 vessels, carrying 296 guns and 3,300 men, and the Gulf
Blockading Squadron of 21 vessels, carrying 282 guns and
3,500 men.” This force was constantly increased as the two
hundred specially designed ships of war were built by the Navy
Department. The squadron reached its highest degree of effi-
ciency during the fourth year of the war by the acquisition of
many prizes, which were quickly converted into light draft cruis-
ers and rendered effective naval service, frequently under their
original names.

The Beockaders.

The first blockader placed upon the Cape Fear Station was
one bearing the misnomer Daylight, which appeared July 20,
1861. Others soon followed, until the number of the blockaders

Blockade Running

391

off Ne w Inlet and the Main, or Western, Bar of the river
was increased thirty or more; these formed a cordon every
night in the shape of a crescent, the horns of which were so
close in shore that it was almost impossible for a small boat to
pass without discovery. Armed picket barges also patrolled
the bars and sometimes crept close in upon the forts. Bor a
year or more the fleet was largely kept upon the blockading sta-
tions; then a second cordon was placed across the track of the
blockade runners near the ports of Nassau and the Bermudas,
the cruisers of which sometimes violated the international dis-
tance restriction of one league — three geographical miles —
from neutral land. At last a third cordon was drawn on the
edge of the Gulf Stream, to which the hunted and harassed
blockade runner often became an easy prey in the early morn-
ing after a hard night’s run in the darkness, during which no
lights were visible to friend or foe, even the binnacle lamp being
carefully screened, leaving only a small peephole by which the
ship was steered.

The Cruisers.

Some of the later cruisers were faster than the blockade
runners and were more dreaded than the blockading squadron,
not only because of their greater speed, but chiefly because of
the proximity of their consorts, which kept them always in
sight, often to the discomfiture of their unhappy quarry,
headed off and opposed in every direction. The prospective
division of big prize money, running into millions of dollars,
was, of course, the most exciting feature of the service on the
Federal side. Occasionally there was comparatively trifling
compensation, but great enjoyment in the capture of some
small-fry blockade runners, consisting of pilot boats or large
yawls laden with two or three bales of cotton and a crew of three
or four youths, that sometimes came to grief in a most humiliat-
ing way. These small craft, upon one of which the writer was
at sea for two weeks, were too frail for the risk of the longer
voyages, and were usually projected from the small inlets, or
sounds, farther South, which gave them a short run of about
a hundred miles to the outer Bahama Keys, through whose dan-
gerous waters they would warily make their way to Nassau.
A boat of this description sailed over a Florida bar on a dark
night under a favorable wind ; but, failing to get out of sight
of land before morning dawned, was overhauled at sunrise by a

392

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

blockader and ordered to come alongside, where, with their own
hands, these miniature blockade runners were obliged to hook
on to the falls of the Federal davits, by which they were igno-
miniously hoisted — boat, cargo and crew, to the captor’s deck.

The desertion of negro slaves from tidewater plantations and
their subsequent rescue as “Intelligent Contrabands” by the
coasting cruisers formed an occasional incident in the records
of their official logs ; but it is a noteworthy fact, deserving hon-
orable mention, that comparatively few of the trusted negroes
upon whom the soldiers in the Confederate Army relied for, the
protection and support of their families at home were thus
found wanting. A pathetic and fatal instance is recalled in the
case of a misguided negro family which put off from the shore
in the darkness, hoping that they would be picked up by a
chance gunboat in the morning. They were hailed by a cruiser
at daylight, but in attempting to board her their frail boat was
swamped, and the father alone was rescued, the mother and all
the children perishing.

A Poet of Refuge.

The natural advantages of Wilmington at the time of the
War between the States made it an ideal port for blockade
runners, there being two entrances to the river, Hew Inlet on
the north, and the Western, or Main, Bar, on the south of Cape
Fear.

For miles the slope of our beach is very gradual to deep
water. The soundings along the coast are regular, and the floor
of the ocean is remarkably even. A steamer hard pressed by
the enemy could run along the outer edge of the breakers with-
out great risk of grounding ; the pursuer, being usually of deeper
draft, was obliged to keep further off shore. The Confederate
steamer Lilian, of which I was then purser, was chased for
nearly a hundred miles from Cape Lookout by the United
States steamer Shenandoah, which sailed a parallel course
within half a mile of her and forced the Lilian at times into
the breakers. This was probably the narrowest escape ever
made by a blockade runner in a chase. The Shenandoah began
firing her broadside guns at three o’clock in the afternoon, her
gunners and the commanding officers of the batteries being
distinctly visible to the Lilians crew. A heavy sea was run-
ning which deflected the aim of the man-of-war, and this alone

Blockade Running

393

saved the Lilian from destruction. A furious bombardment
by the Shenandoah , aggravated by the display of the Lilian s
Confederate flag, was continued until nightfall, when, by a
clever ruse, the Lilian , guided by the flash of her pursuer’s
guns, stopped for a few minutes; then, putting her helm bard
over ran across the wake of the warship straight out to sea, and
on the following morning, passed the fleet off Fort Fisher in
such a crippled condition that several weeks were spent in
Wilmington for repairs.

THE CHASE. i

[After Homeward Bound.]

Freed from the lingering chase, in devious ways
Upon the swelling tides
Swiftly the Lilian glides
Through hostile shells and eager foemen past;

The lynx-eyed pilot gazing through the haze,

And engines straining, “far hope dawns at last.”

Now falls in billows deep the welcome night
Upon white sands below;

While signal lamps aglow
Seek out Fort Fisher’s distant answering gleams,

The blockade runner’s keen, supreme delight, —

Dear Dixie Land, the haven of our dreams!

James Speunt.

CAPE FEAE PILOTS.

The four years of blockade running, from 1861 to 1865,
were so crowded with incidents and adventures of an extraor-
dinary and startling nature that each day brought a new and
novel experience.

I recall my first day under fire, the trembling knees, the
terrifying scream of the approaching shells, the dread of in-
stant death. .Again, the notable storm at sea in which our
ship was buffeted and lashed by the waves until the straining
steel plates cut the rivets, the fireroom was flooded and the
engines stopped, while the tempest tossed us helpless upon the
mountainous waves, and all hope of saving our lives was gone
until we were mercifully cast upon a reef which extends about

iFirst published in the North Carolina Booklet.

394

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

thirty miles from Bermuda. And later, when our party of five
persons endeavoring to reach the Confederacy in a small launch
after the fall of Fort Fisher was cast away the second day upon
Green Turtle Cay, an obscure island of the Bahamas, where
we dwelt in a negro’s hut for three weeks, and then foolishly
risked our lives again for two weeks at sea in a small boat
which landed us in the surf among the man-eating sharks off
Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Strangely enough, as I was writing these reminiscences of
long ago, a benevolent old gentleman presented himself at my
office door and said, “I want to see my old friend, Mr. Sprunt,
who was purser of my ship fifty years ago, and whom I have
not seen since then,” It was gratifying to see again in the
flesh my brother officer, Andrew J. Forrest, of Baltimore, who
was first assistant engineer with us when Fort Fisher was cap-
tured and our occupation as blockade runners terminated.
Among many other incidents which our meeting brought to
mind was a ludicrous scene recalled by my friend. “Do you
remember,” said Andy, “how annoying it was to the captain
when his belated slumbers, after a night at poker, were dis-
turbed in the early morning by the usual holy-stoning and
washing-down-decks which Chief Officer Carrow was so par-
ticular about ? Do you recall the occasion when, having fin-
ished breakfast, we were strolling about the quarter-deck, and
a rooster got out of the coop near the galley and, perching him-
self upon the bridge-deck near the captain’s stateroom, crowed
and crowed, until with a savage oath the skipper burst out of
the door in his pajamas with a big Colt’s revolver and chased
that rooster all over the ship in a rage that fairly choked us
with laughter ?”

My friend tells me that we two are the only survivors of the
fifty-two officers and men upon the muster roll of the old ship,
which was subsequently used as a transport in the South Ameri-
can wars.

The stirring scenes recalled in these reminiscences occurred
more than a half-century ago. But few of those who participated
in blockade running still survive, and their hoary heads and
feeble knees attest the measure of their days. One, whose
moral excellence commands universal respect, still heeds the
call of the sea, and none of his profession is more skillful in
piloting the big steamers with their valuable cargoes through
the devious Cape Fear Channel over the bar to the city’s harbor.

Blockade Running

395

Fifty years ago he and I were captured, man and boy together,
in the same ship, under the Confederate dag; and we suffered
together the privations, discomforts, and trials of prisoners of
war. IJpon the return of peace our vocations cemented a friend-
ship which has extended unbroken to the present time. Some
years ago he was called by the Master who once walked upon
the sea to the higher service of a minister of the gospel, in
which he has been signally blessed.

The writer, for twenty-six years a member of the Board of
Commissioners of Navigation and Pilotage, having ample
means of observation at home and abroad, believes that our
pilots compare most favorably with those of the order elsewhere
in. all the essential qualifications of this dangerous calling.

The story of their wonderful skill and bravery in the time of
the Federal blockade has never been written, because the sur-
vivors were modest men, and because time obliterated from
their memories many incidents of that extraordinary epoch in
their history.

Amidst almost impenetrable darkness, without lightship or
beacon, the narrow and closely watched inlet was felt for with
a deep-sea lead as a blind man feels his way along a familiar
path, and, even when the enemy’s fire was raking the wheel-
house, the faithful pilot, with steady hand and iron nerve,
safely steered the little fugitive of the sea to her desired haven.
It might be said of him as it was told of the Nantucket skipper,
that he could get his bearings on the darkest night by a “taste”
of the lead.

We recall the names of some of the noted blockade runners
and their pilots, so well known in Smithville about fifty years
ago : Cornubia, afterwards called the Lady Davis , C. C. Morse ;
Giraffe, afterwards known as the R. E. Lee , Archibald Guthrie ;
Fanny , Henry Howard ; Hansa, J. N. Burruss ; City of Peters-
burg, Joseph Bensel; Old Dominion , Richard Dosher; Alice ,
Joseph Springs; Margaret and Jessie, Charles W. Craig; Hebe,
George W. Burruss; Advance , C. C. Morse; Pet, T. W. Craig;
Atalanta, Thomas M. Thompson; Eugenia, T. W. Newton;
Ella and Annie, J. M. Adkins; Banshee , Thomas Burruss;
Venus, R. Sellers; Don, William St. George; Lynx, J. W.
Craig; Let Her Be, J. T. Burruss; Little Hattie, R. S. Gris-
som; Lilian, Thomas Grissom; North Heath , Julius Dosher;
Let Her Rip, E. T. Burruss; Beauregard, J. W. Potter; Owl,
T. B. Garrason ; Agnes Fry, Thomas Dyer ; Kate, C. C. Morse ;

396

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Siren , John Hill; Calypso , C. G. Smith; Ella, John Savage;
Condor, Thomas Brinkman; Coquette, E. T. Daniels; Mary
Celeste , J. W. Anderson; Susan Bierne, Bichard Dosher.

Many other steamers might he named, among them the
Britannic, Emma, Dee, Antonica, Victory, Granite City, Stone-
wall Jackson, Flora, Havelock, Hero, Eagle , Duoro, Thistle,
Scotia, Gertrude, Charleston , Colonel Lamb, Dolphin , and
Dream, the names of whose pilots may or may not be among
those already recalled. These are noted here because there is
no other record of their exploits extant.

Some of the steamers which were run ashore by the block-
aders may still be seen: The Ella on Bald Head, the Spunky

and the Georgiana McCall on Caswell Beach, the Hebe and
the Dee between Wrightsville and Masonboro. The Beauregard
and the Venus lie stranded on Carolina Beach; the Modern
Greece, near Mew Inlet; the Antonica, on Frying Pan Shoals.
Two others lie near Lockwood’s Folly Bar; and others whose
names are forgotten lie half-buried in sands, where they may
remain for centuries to come.

James William Craig, a Veteran Pilot.

He is now the Bev. James William Craig, Methodist
preacher, but I like to think of him as Jim Billy, the Cape
Fear pilot of war times, on the bridge of the swift Confederate
blockade runner Lynx, commanded by the intrepid Captain
Beed, as she races through the blackness of night on her course
west nor’ west, straight and true for the Federal fleet off Mew
Inlet, in utter silence, the salt spray of the sea smiting the faces
of the watch as they gaze ahead for the first sign of imminent
danger.

Soon there is added to the incessant noise of wind and waves
the ominous roar of the breakers, as the surf complains to the
shore, and the deep-sea lead gives warning of shoaling water.
“Half-speed,” is muttered through the speaking tube ; a hurried
parley; a recognized landfall — for Beed is a fine navigator —
and “Are you ready to take her, Pilot ?” “Beady, sir,” comes
from Jim Billy in the darkness. Then the whispered orders
through the tube : “Slow down,” as there looms ahead the first
of the dread monsters of destruction. “Starboard,” “Steady,”
and the little ship glides past like a phantom, unseen as yet.
Then “Port,” “Port,” “Hard a’port,” in quick succession, as

Blockade Running

397

she almost touches the second cruiser. She is now in the thick of
the blockading squadron ; and suddenly, out of the darkness and
close aboard, comes the hoarse hail, “Heave to, or I’ll sink you,”
followed by a blinding glare of rockets and the roar of heavy
guns. The devoted little Confederate is now naked to her
enemies, as the glare of rockets and Drummond lights from
many men-of-war illuminate the chase. Under a pitiless hail
of shot and shell from every quarter, she hounds full speed
ahead, every joint and rivet straining, while Jim Billy dodges
her in and out through a maze of smoke and flame and burst-
ing shells. The range of Fort Fisher’s guns is yet a mile
away. Will she make it? Onward speeds the little ship, for
neither Reed nor Jim Billy has a thought of surrender. A
shell explodes above them, smashing the wheelhouse; another
shell tears away the starboard paddle-box; and as she flies like
lightning past the nearest cruiser, a sullen roar from Colonel
Lamb’s artillery warns her pursuers that they have reached
their limitations; and in a few minutes the gallant little ship
crosses the bar and anchors under the Confederate guns. The
captain and his trusty pilot shake hands and go below, “to take
the oath,” as Reed described it — for the strain must be relaxed
by sleep or stimulation. “A close shave, Jim,” was all the
captain said. “It was, sir, for a fact,” was the equally laconic
answer.

My shipmate, Jim Billy, is growing old, and so am I. Our
lives have been united all these years in a bond which death
only can divide; and as we talk, as we often do, about old
times and those who took part with us in the stress of war, all
of whom have gone out upon the boundless tide, we are thank-
ful that we are in the convoy of Him who walked upon the sea,
and that we will be guided to our desired haven by His good
hand upon us. Some days ago I drew out of Jim Billy the
following narrative, which I have set down as nearly as may
be in his own words, and I trust it may serve to interest and
instruct some readers who do not often hear a true sailor’s
yarn :

“I was born in May, 1840, and piloted my first vessel into
the Cape Fear River when I was seventeen years of age. At
that time Mr. P. W. Fanning, of Wilmington, was chairman
of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation and Pilotage,
and the present custom of issuing branches, or licenses, was not
in vogue.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“I acted under the protection of my father, who was a full
branch pilot; in other words, he was permitted to carry in ves-
sels of any depth suitable for the water then available. I was
an apprentice to him.

“When the war broke out I was twenty-one years of age and,
in view of certain circumstances favorable to my reputation, I
was given by the Board of Commissioners of Navigation and
Pilotage a license for twelve feet, the laws having been changed
a year or two before the war in respect to the method of issuing
licenses.

“My father, James N. Craig, lived a short distance from
Fort Fisher on the river side at a place called Craig’s Landing,
and his house and landing were both used later by the com-
mander of Fort Fisher, Col. William Lamb, who was so inti-
mately engaged with my father that he gave him general charge
of the duty of setting lights for the benefit of blockade run-
ners, under certain restrictions which had been provided. I
was therefore engaged for nearly two years after the outbreak
of the war in assisting my father, and became more familiar
with the channel and the approaches of the channel than many
other pilots who had not the opportunity of sounding, as we had
frequently, under government instructions.

“The first proposal made to me to take a ship through the
blockade was by Capt. E. C. Peed, commander of the celebrated
cruiser Sumter . This vessel had been dismantled of her guns
on account of her slow speed and general unfitness for a cruiser,
after her destruction of many vessels of the enemy, and she was
sent into Wilmington with a cargo of war stores, conspicuous
among which were two enormous Blakely guns, which were
subsequently used in the defense of Charleston.

“After the discharge of the cargo at Wilmington, the Sumter
was loaded with cotton, and Captain Peed brought her down to
Old Brunswick landing and anchored before he made arrange-
ments for the engagement of a pilot to take him out.

“In coming into the Cape Fear Captain Peed had, through
a successful ruse, passed through the blockading fleet by hoist-
ing the United States ensign and pretending to be one of the
fleet. The hlockaders did not discover his true character until
he was under the guns of Fort Fisher, and consequently they
were very eager to capture him on his voyage outward.

“At that time of the tide it was impossible to take over the
Pip Shoal or across either of the bars a ship drawing more than

Blockade Running

399

eleven feet. The Sumter drew eleven feet of water and
grounded repeatedly in attempting to go out. Captain Reed of-
fered me $1,000 in gold if I would take the ship out successfully
and reach Bermuda, where he would discharge me and proceed
to England with his cargo.

“I made several ineffectual attempts to get the Sumter out-
side, but, owing to the lack of water and the vigilance of the
blockading fleet, we were baffled repeatedly. At last I took her
out successfully over the bar at New Inlet, the fleet in the
meantime having concentrated at the Western Bar, expecting
to capture her there, and Captain Reed subsequently told me
that he proceeded to Bermuda and to England without sighting
a single hostile vessel during the whole voyage.

“A short time after that I piloted in the Steamship Orion
over New Inlet Bar successfully, the vessel having arrived off
the bar without a pilot and, very luckily for the ship as well
as for me, hailed me while I was setting some lights for an-
other vessel, the Cornubia, ready to go out in charge of Pilot
C. C. Morse.

“Just as Morse was passing us, he called out, ‘Don’t take
your lights in too soon, because if we run afoul of a blockader
outside, he may run us in again, and we want the benefit of the
lights.’

“Sure enough, a few minutes after the Cornubia had faded
from our sight beyond the bar, we were surprised by the sudden
looming up of another large steamer, which at first we supposed
was a blockader chasing the Cornubia.

“We were still more surprised, and really frightened, when
they lowered a boat and pulled close up to us in the semi-dark-
ness and demanded to know who we were, Pilot Thomas Newton
being with me. They asked if we were pilots, which we ad-
mitted was the case. The voice, which proved to be that of the
chief officer of the blockade runner Orion, a very fine ship, then
replied, ‘We have been trying to run into Charleston, and failed
to do so. We are groping around for the New Inlet Bar. Will
you take us in V We at once agreed, and proceeded to the ship
and brought her in over the bar and anchored her in safety
under the guns of Fort Eisher.

“Strangely enough, the captain of the Orion, who claimed to
be a Baltimorean, recognized me, and reminded me that I had
taken him over the bar before the war, when he commanded a
schooner from Baltimore.

400

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“Some months afterwards a very fine blockade runner called
the Don , under command of Captain Roberts (whose real name
was Hobart, a son of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, and a post
captain in the British Navy, who had obtained leave of absence
in order to try his skill at blockade running), was brought suc-
cessfully to Wilmington by Pilot St. George, who was there
taken sick, and I was requested to assume his place.

“On my return to Wilmington in the Don , I relinquished
this vessel to her former pilot, St. George, and made a contract
with the agent in Wilmington of a firm which owned a number
of blockade runners — a notable one being the Hansa — to pilot
any vessels which he might designate and be subject to his
orders at any moment, the term of engagement being three
months.

“Immediately afterwards, I was ordered to proceed to Nassau
in the blockade runner Fanny (formerly the Orion), and report
to Captain Watters, of the blockade runner Annie , for duty on
that ship.

“I remember that we left in the Fanny on Saturday night
and arrived in Nassau before daylight on Tuesday morning,
where I found the Annie , fully loaded and ready for sea, wait-
ing for me. We accordingly left about 4 o’clock that afternoon
and arrived without incident inside the Cape Fear Bar on
the Friday night following.

“I made a second voyage through the blockade in the Annie ,
passing within a cable-length of two of the Federal fleet that
failed to observe us.

“We again loaded the Annie in Nassau and cleared for
Wilmington, but fell in with a hurricane shortly afterwards,
and were obliged to heave to for about forty hours, and so lost
our reckoning. Failing to get observations for three days, we
waited until the gale subsided, and then anchored the ship in
smooth water, by a kedge, until the captain succeeded in getting
an observation of the North Star, by which he worked out his
position. We then shaped our course straight for the blockade
fleet off Fort Fisher.

“At that time, and subsequently, it was the custom for the
flagship of the blockading squadron to carry a large light, and
this, being the only one visible, often served the purpose of
guiding the blockade runners until they could get the bearings
of the Mound Light. On this particular night of May 6, 1864,
we came very near running afoul of the Confederate iron-clad

Blockade Running

401

ram Raleigh outside of the bar, but, supposing her to be one of
the blockaders, got out of her way as quickly as possible.

“My term of three months’ service having expired, I was
proceeding in my skiff from Craig’s Landing to Wilmington
when I was overtaken by a very swift blockade runner, with
two rakish funnels, a perfect model of its kind, called the
Lynx , and, having been given a towline, climbed aboard and
found, to my great surprise and delight, that the ship was com-
manded by my old friend, Captain Reed, who immediately re-
quested that I would arrange to go with him, as his engagement
of a pilot was only for the voyage inward.

“To this I consented on condition that General Whiting
would approve it, and I received a few days afterwards a tele-
gram to go on hoard the Lynx at Fort Fisher. I was in a
hurricane on this ship in which she fared badly, her paddle-
boxes, sponsons, and bridge-deck being partly washed away;
but we at last limped into Bermuda and, after repairing dam-
ages, proceeded again to Wilmington.

“The longest chase of which I was a witness during the war
occurred while I was on the Lynx , which was chased for fifteen
hours by that very fast cruiser, Fort Jackson. The Fort Jack-
son's log and official report subsequently showed that she was
making sixteen knots an hour, which at that time was considered
phenomenal speed (the average blockade runner seldom ex-
ceeding fourteen knots an hour) , and on this occasion I remem-
ber that the safety-valves of the Lynx were weighted down by
the iron tops of the coal bunkers, which of course imperiled the
life of every one on hoard, hut increased the speed of the Lynx
to more than sixteen knots an hour and enabled her ultimately
to escape.

“After making two round passages in the Lynx and running
the blockade four times in this vessel, several times under fire,
I joined at Wilmington the Confederate steamer Lilian under
the following peculiar circumstances :

“Quite a number of the Wilmington pilots had been cap-
tured by the enemy, and the force available for ships belonging
to the Confederate Government waiting in Bermuda and Nas-
sau was in consequence greatly reduced. The regular pilot of
the Lilian was Thomas Grissom, and I was one of four extra
pilots (the three others being Joseph Thompson, James Bell,
and Charles Craig), who were ordered by General Whiting to
proceed to Bermuda and take charge of certain ships to he

402 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

designated by Maj. Norman S. Walker, the Confederate agent
at that port.

“Trouble began before we got outside. An armed barge from
the fleet had come close inside the Western Bar and lay in our
track in the channel, and immediately upon our approach, sent
up a rocket and fired a gun, which was instantly answered by
the whole fleet outside, and I remember that we crossed the
bar in a bright flash of Drummond lights and rockets which
made the night as bright as day. Every one of the blockaders
was firing at us or over us as we headed out to sea, and when
the next morning, Sunday, dawned, we had just succeeded in
dropping the last of the cruisers, which had chased us all night.

“We were congratulating ourselves after breakfast that morn-
ing that we would have a clear sea towards Bermuda — and, by
the way, the sea was as smooth as glass — when the lookout in
the crow’s nest reported a vessel of war ahead, shortly after-
wards another on the starboard bow, and a little later a third
on our port bow, and in a few minutes a fourth on our beam.
We had unfortunately run into the second line of blockaders,
called the Gulf Squadron, and it was not more than two hours
before they were all in range and pelting us with bombshells.

“The chase lasted until half-past one in the afternoon, when
a shell from the cruiser on our starboard beam, called the
Gettysburg , formerly the blockade runner Margaret and J essie,
struck us below the water line, making a large hole through
which the water rushed like a mill-stream.

“All our efforts to stop the leak with blankets were unavail-
ing. We had previously thrown over our deck-load of cotton,
but it was impossible to reach the aperture from the inside, as
the hold was jam full of cotton; and in a short time the vessel
began to steer badly and gradually sank almost to the level of
the deck. Binding further efforts to escape utterly fruitless,
the captain stopped the ship and surrendered to the boats which
immediately surrounded us.

“I remember that when the ship was hove to and the Federal
officers came on board, our sullen and dejected commander was
standing on the starboard paddle-box, with his arms folded and
his back turned to the approaching Eederals. One of them,
with a drawn sword, approached and asked if he was in com-
mand of the ship. Captain Martin responded with an oath:
eI was in command, but I suppose you are captain now.’

“Although every effort had been made to escape, those of us

Blockade Running

403

who knew Captain Maffitt, the former commander of the Lilian,
regretted very much his absence on this occasion, as he would
most likely have been more fortunate in getting away.

“Knowing how eager the Federals were to identify the pilot
of the ship, they being in blissful ignorance that there were no
fewer than five Wilmington pilots on hoard, we all agreed to
personate firemen or members of the crew, and succeeded in
passing ourselves off as such. Subsequently all of us escaped
except the ship’s pilot, who was detained at Point Lookout until
the end of the war.

“Our ship’s company numbered forty-eight men, and now,
after a lapse of forty-eight years, we two, J ames Sprunt, purser,
and J. W. Craig, pilot, are the only survivors of them all.1

“After our escape from prison, we made our way to Halifax,
Hova Scotia, through the medium of some gold coins, which I
fortunately kept next to my body in a waistband and which
paid the passage of four of my companions, including Mr.
Sprunt. I joined the steamer Bat at Halifax, and proceeded
as her pilot to Wilmington. When off the bar, and in the midst
of the blockading fleet, which was firing heavily upon us, the
captain lost his nerve and, notwithstanding my expostulations,
persisted in stopping the Bat. The cause of the captain’s ex-
citement was due to this remarkable incident : One of our sail-
ors was a survivor of the desperate battle between the Alabama
and the Kearsarge off Cherbourg some months before, serving on
the Alabama ; but, instead of proving to be, as might be expected,
a very brave man, under the fire of the blockading fleet he
became terrified and hid himself as far forward under the
turtleback in the eyes of our ship as he could squeeze himself.
During the firing of the fleet a shot struck the exact spot where
this poor fellow was hiding and cut off his leg, causing him to
utter such shrieks as to demoralize the captain, who ignobly
stopped and anchored his ship in the midst of the enemy, when
he might just as well have gone on, with less risk of destruction.
The ship that took us that night was the United States steamer
Montgomery.

“For the second time I was made a prisoner of war and under
the following circumstances, which I have never mentioned but
once before.

“Before I became engaged in the blockade-running service,
I was acting as mate on the Confederate steamer Flora Mac-

iMr. Craig has since died.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

donald, a transport on the Cape Fear River, and when the
Confederate privateer Retribution sent into Wilmington a prize
schooner, which she had captured at sea, in charge of one of
the Retributions officers named Jordan, who had shipped with
Capt. Joseph Price in Wilmington, I assisted in towing that
vessel from the bar to Wilmington, and of course saw much of
Jordan.

When I was captured by the Montgomery, I was taken to
Portsmouth Navy Yard, where we were boarded by a Federal
officer in a captain’s uniform, who proved to be none other than
my quondam Confederate friend Jordan, who had gone over to
the enemy, and who immediately recognized me and informed
against me.

“I. was then put in irons and sent on board the U. S. man-of-
war Sabine, where I was most kindly treated by its commander,
Captain Loring, and while a prisoner on his ship I was repeat-
edly approached by the Federal officers, who offered to pay any
sum I would name if I would join their fleet off Fort Fisher
and take part as a pilot in their attack against my home. I
told them that the United States Government did not have
enough money to induce me to accept such a proposition, and I
accordingly remained a prisoner at Point Lookout until after
the war was over.

“I may add that while I was a prisoner on the Sabine , two
of the Cape Fear pilots, C. C. Morse and John Savage, were
brought on hoard as prisoners, under suspicion of being pilots,
and, although they were intimate friends of mine, I took par-
ticular pains to treat them as total strangers and paid no atten-
tion to them, lest it might get them into further trouble. They
were much relieved when they discovered my purpose. Savage
was subsequently released, hut Morse, having been identified
later by some other means, was made a prisoner with me until
the end of the war.

“The monotony of prison life affords so few incidents that
my experience is hardly worth recalling, and yet I remember
some diversions, which gave us much merriment at the time.

“While our friends of the Lilian were confined for several
weeks in a casemate of Fort Macon, that garrison consisted of
what the Yankees called the First Regiment of North Carolina
Volunteers. These men were known to us, however, as ‘Buffa-
loes,’ and they were a mean lot, as can he imagined from their
having turned against their native State in time of great stress

Blockade Running

405

of war. Every day an officer and a guard took us outside our
gloomy casemate and permitted us to stretch our legs along the
beach, while we gazed with longing eyes across the intervening
sound to Dixie Land. The marsh grass was full of sand fid-
dlers, which scuttled away at our approach. I pretended to be
surprised and asked the guard what these things were, saying
that they would he called lobsters in my country if they were
much larger. The old renegade looked at me with a most con-
temptuous expression and replied: ‘You know what they are;

you’ve got millions of them at Smithville, whar you come from.’

“Another daily experience was the persistent, though unsuc-
cessful, effort of the officer of the day to tease out of our young
purser, James Sprunt, whom he thought an easy mark on
account of his youth (17 years), betrayal of our pilot, little
dreaming that we were five Wilmington pilots.

“A warm attachment began in that prison life between Mr.
Sprunt and myself, which has been true and steadfast through
all these intervening years. We little thought then that our
lives would be so long united in the bonds of Christian fellow-
ship and commercial enterprise.

“During my subsequent confinement on the Sabine as a pris-
oner of war, a large number of blockade runners who had been
captured at sea were brought to that school-ship for confinement,
and Captain Loring tried in every way to surprise those sus-
pected of being pilots into an admission of the fact. One fine
day, while the prisoners were lying on the deck, he, looking like
an old sea dog, bluff and hearty, paced up and down among
them, and suddenly turning on his heel called out: ‘All you

North Carolinians stand up quick!’ I cast my eyes over a
number of our pilots, fearing they would be taken by this
surprise and betray themselves, hut not a man stirred, and old
Loring, who was really a good fellow and kind to us, went on
his way.

“I hope it may not he amiss, in the conclusion of these
reminiscences, to allude to the fact that, although I have been
all these years engaged as a Cape Fear pilot, in the duties of
my vocation, it has pleased God to call me also to the higher
duty of preaching His gospel, as a Methodist minister, and to
make me the humble instrument, in His hands, of guiding some
of my fellow-men to their eternal rest, as I have guided the
ships to their haven.

“There was a moral lesson, to those who heeded, in the

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

devious path of our hunted fugitives of the sea in war time,
for the Christian warfare is a running fight with many adver-
saries of the soul, and if we will but follow the lead of the
Great Pilot, He will bring us safe at last to ‘an anchor within
the vail, whither our Forerunner is already entered.7

“There is a beautiful figure in this Scripture which few
landsmen recognize. The approach by sailing vessels in the
olden time to the inlets of the Mediterranean Sea was often
baffled by adverse winds, or calms; a little boat was then
lowered, which carried into the harbor a kedge anchor that was
dropped overboard. To this small anchor was attached a line
by which the vessel was warped by the windlass into the haven.
The man who carried the anchor in was the forerunner, and,
in the figure, he is Christ, the Captain of our Salvation; the
line is the line of faith, and the man at the windlass is a human
soul who trusts in God.77

Captain Daniel W. Lee.

A few weeks ago I spent a pleasant day with Capt. Daniel
W. Lee, in Virginia, the sailor nephew of the illustrious leader
of the Lost Cause, who served as an officer on board the Con-
federate States cruiser Chickamauga, which, under the com-
mand of Capt. John Wilkinson, spread consternation up and
down the Northern coast during the last ninety days of the
war.

Across the historic Rappahannock lay the famous town of
Fredericksburg, the home of Washington and Mercer, the
cradle of American independence, so often swept by fire and
sword in the scourge of war. Beyond this, like two great
armies, were the serried ranks of 30,000 to 40,000 Confederate
and Federal dead, waiting for the trumpet call; and farther
still, the ancient house of Brompton on Marye7s Heights, around
which the iron hail and storm of battle swept, leaving many
thousand bullet-scars which time has not effaced.

From these familiar scenes which fill the contemplative mind
with sad emotions, Captain Lee turned with kindling eyes to
the recital of his daring runs through the Cape Fear blockade,
and courteously inquired for the welfare of his old shipmates
at Wilmington and Southport, nearly all of whom have gone
out on their last voyage. With characteristic modesty he de-
clined to write a narrative of his war-time experience; but as

Blockade Running

407

he was a subordinate under Captain Wilkinson, the latter’s
narration of cruises in which they were engaged will serve to
connect the sea life of this distinguished gentleman with a
unique epoch in Cape Tear history.

Pilot Bukruss.

A familiar face and figure in the strenuous days of 1861 to
1866 was Pilot Ned Burruss, of Smithville. He was reckoned
one of the coolest and bravest of men under fire and also a
pilot of great ability. I recall a characteristic story of Burruss.
When Captain Reed, of the Sumter , aroused him from a deep
sleep with the exclamation, “Ned, we are surrounded by the
Yankees and can not escape; we must either be sunk or run
ashore,” Burruss rubbed his eyes and remarked in a matter-of-
fact tone, “Well, I guess I’d better put on a clean shirt.” For
years after the war he held a steady engagement as pilot on the
Clyde steamers, and when he gave it up his employers parted
with him regretfully, because they regarded him as a most
trustworthy and capable man. Mr. Burruss always inspired his
shipmates with confidence. His quiet, kindly disposition and
his well-known skill made many friends. His death recently
was greatly deplored.

Captain Steele.

I recall an instance of extraordinary nerve on the part of
Captain Steele, of the blockade runner Banshee , who found
himself at daylight close alongside a Federal cruiser. The
captain of the warship Nyphon simply had the Banshee in the
hollow of his hand, and desiring to capture this valuable prize
without the risk of sinking her and thereby losing the prize
money, he commanded Steele to heave to immediately or he
would sink him. Steele, standing on the paddle-box, presented
a ludicrous spectacle as he coolly shouted back that he didn’t
have time to stop, because he was in a hurry. Thereupon issued
a cross fire of vituperation, while Steele’s engineers were piling
on steam in a desperate effort to escape. The Federal com-
mander, still unwilling to destroy his prize and lose its value,
continued to threaten, until he saw the Banshee gradually draw-
ing away from him, when he shot away one of her masts and
raked the little ship from stem to stern with grapeshot, while

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Steele’s men were lying flat on the deck for shelter. The quar-
termaster abandoned the wheel and the little ship ran into the
breakers, but was brought safely through by her intrepid pilot,
Tom Burruss, a brother of Ned Burruss.

John William Anderson.

John William Anderson was a Smithville mariner, engaged,
as all of them were, in running the blockade. His name will
live in the hearts and minds of the Lower Cape Fear people,
because his last voyage splendidly illustrated the heroism and
fidelity to duty of a Cape Fear pilot. Although I remember
the incident in all its details, I prefer to relate it in the words
of the late Alfred Moore Waddell, the gifted writer of Wil-
mington, whose spirit has also taken its “flight to the undis-
covered country” :

“Among these blockade runners in 1863 was a steamer called,
the Mary Celeste. Her pilot was John William Anderson, of
Smithville, and he, like all the best pilots, was as familiar with
the channels over the bars, both at New Inlet (where Fort
Fisher stood, and which is now closed) and at the mouth of
the river, as a farmer is with the roads over his land. One
night, in the month of August, 1863, Anderson took the Mary
Celeste out over New Inlet Bar, and, gliding past the blockading
fleet, which was always watching for such valuable prizes, es-
caped under cover of darkness and reached Nassau in safety.
He only escaped one danger to run into another more fearful.
Yellow fever was raging there, and the victims of that scourge
were most numerous among the sailors and other non-residents.
Anderson was stricken with the fever just before the Mary
Celeste weighed anchor for her return voyage, and by the time
she neared the North Carolina coast it was evident he must die.

“An entrance through the blockading fleet could, of course,
only be made between sunset and sunrise and, as Anderson was
the only Cape Fear pilot on board, great anxiety prevailed as to
the safety of the ship. At last the critical hour arrived, when,
in the uncertain light of the dawn, they found that they had
run near a blockader and had been seen by her. The blockader
opened fire on the Mary Celeste and pursued her. Like a scared
greyhound she made straight for New Inlet Bar, then visible
several miles away, and after her steamed the blockader, from
whose bow gun every few minutes would leap a flame followed

Blockade Running

409

by a shell which would pass over or through her rigging and
burst in the air, or, striking the sea, would flash a great column
of spray towards the sky. By this time poor Anderson was
dying in his berth, and the officers of the ship began to realize
the terrible situation in which they found themselves, with the
enemy in pursuit and before them a bar over which it was al-
most certain destruction for any one aboard except Anderson
to attempt to steer the Mary Celeste. Anderson heard the firing
and knew what it meant before they told him. He knew, too,
that he was dying and had no further interest in this world’s
affairs ; but the sense of duty asserted itself even in the presence
of death.

“He was too weak to go up, but he demanded to be taken on
deck and carried to the man at the wheel. Two strong sailors
lifted him and carried him up to the wheelhouse. They stood
him on his feet and supported him on either side. His face
was as yellow as gold, and his eyes shone like stars. He fixed
his unearthly gaze upon the long line of breakers ahead, then
upon the dim line of pines that stood higher than the surround-
ing forest, then at the compass for a moment, and said calmly,
‘Hard starboard.’ Quickly revolved the wheel under the hands
of the helmsman ; slowly veered the stem of the rushing steamer,
and a shell hurtled over the pilot-house and went singing
towards the beach.

“Anderson kept his gaze fixed on the breakers, and in the same
calm tone said, ‘Steady.’ On ploughed the steamer straight
for her goal, while the group of men in the pilot-house stood in
profound silence but fairly quivering with suppressed excite-
ment. The blockader, finally seeing that it was impossible to
overtake her and not desiring to come within range of the big
guns of Fort Fisher, abandoned the chase with a farewell shot,
and the Mary Celeste , now nearly on the bar, slackened her pace
a little, and nothing but the swash of the sea and the trembling
thud of the ship under the force of the engine could be heard.
The dying pilot, though failing fast, continued in the same calm
tone to give his directions. They were now crossing the bar,
but had passed the most dangerous point, when he bent his head
as if to cough, and the horrified men saw the last fatal symptom
which immediately precedes dissolution — black vomit — and
knew that the end was very near. He knew it, too, but gave no
sign of fear and continued at his post. His earthly home was
now visible to his natural eye — he was almost there, where loved

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ones waited his coming — but nearer still to his spiritual vision
was the ‘house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens/
At last the bar was safely crossed, smooth water was reached,
the engine slowed down, the Mary Celeste glided silently into
the harbor, stopped her headway gradually, lay still, loosed her
anchor chains, dropped her anchor, and as the last loud rattle
of her cable ceased, the soul of John William Anderson took its
‘flight to the undiscovered country/ ”

NARRATIVES OE DISTINGUISHED BLOCKADE
RUNNERS.

Capt. John Wilkinson, C. S. N.

One of the most intelligent and successful commanders in the
blockade-running fleet was Capt. John Wilkinson, who entered
the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1837, and, after an
honorable and distinguished career, tendered his services to the
Confederacy upon the secession of his native State, Virginia.

Having received a commission in the Confederate States
Navy, he served in various responsible positions, and eventually
was ordered upon special service in command of the Confeder-
ate States steamer R. E. Lee.

In his interesting hook entitled Narrative of a Blockade
Runner with reference to the citizens of Virginia who resigned
their commissions in the old service, he says : “They were com-
pelled to choose whether they would aid in subjugating their
State, or in defending it against invasion; for it was already
evident that coercion would he used by the General Govern-
ment, and that war was inevitable. In reply to the accusation
of perjury in breaking their oath of allegiance/since brought
against the officers of the army and navy who resigned their
commissions to render aid to the South, it need only be stated
that, in their belief, the resignation of their commissions ab-
solved them from any special obligation. They then occupied
the same position towards the government as other classes of
citizens. But this charge was never brought against them until
the war was ended. The resignation of their commissions was
accepted when their purpose was well known. As to the charge
of ingratitude, they reply their respective States had contrib-
uted their full share towards the expenses of the General Gov-
ernment, acting as their disbursing agent; and, when these

Blockade Running

411

States withdrew from the Union, their citizens belonging to the
two branches of the public service did not, and do not, consider
themselves amenable to this charge for abandoning their official
positions to cast their lot with their kindred and friends. But,
yielding as they did to necessity, it was nevertheless a painful
act to separate themselves from companions with whom they had
been long and intimately associated, and from the flag under
which they had been proud to serve.”

With reference to his experience in blockade running at Wil-
mington, Captain Wilkinson writes :

“The natural advantages of Wilmington for blockade run-
ning were very great, owing chiefly to the fact that there were
two separate and distinct approaches to Cape Fear River, i. e.}
either by Uew Inlet to the north of Smith’s Island, or by the
Western Bar to the south of it. This island is ten or eleven
miles in length; but the Frying Pan Shoals extend ten or
twelve miles farther south, making the distance by sea between
the two bars thirty miles or more, although the direct distance
between them is only six or seven miles. From Smithville, a
little village about equidistant from the two bars, both block-
ading fleets could he distinctly seen; and the outward-bound
blockade runners could take their choice through which to run
the gauntlet. The inward-bound blockade runners, too, were
guided by circumstances of wind and weather, selecting that bar
over which they would cross after they had passed the Gulf
Stream, and shaping their course accordingly. The approaches
to both bars were clear of danger, with the single exception of
the ‘Lump’ before mentioned ; and so regular are the soundings
that the shore can be coasted for miles within a stone’s throw of
the breakers.

“These facts explain why the United States fleets were unable
wholly to stop blockade running. It was, indeed, impossible to
do so. The result to the very close of the war proves this asser-
tion; for, in spite of the vigilance of the fleet, many blockade
runners were afloat when Fort Fisher was captured. In fact,
the passage through the fleet was little dreaded; for, although
the blockade runner might receive a shot or two, she was rarely
disabled ; and, in proportion to the increase of the fleet, the
greater we knew would he the danger of its vessels firing into
each other. As the boys before the deluge used to say, they
would be very apt to ‘miss the cow and kill the calf.’ The chief
danger was upon the open sea, many of the light cruisers having

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

great speed. As soon as one of them discovered a blockade
runner during daylight, she would attract other cruisers in the
vicinity by sending up a dense column of smoke, visible for
many miles in clear weather. A cordon of fast steamers sta-
tioned ten or fifteen miles apart, inside the Gulf Stream, and
in the course from Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington and
Charleston, would have been more effective in stopping block-
ade running than the whole United States Navy concentrated
off these ports. It was unaccountable to us why such a plan did
not occur to good Mr. Welles, hut it was not our business to
suggest. I have no doubt, however, that the fraternity to which
I then belonged would unanimously have voted thanks and a
service of plate to the Honorable Secretary of the United States
Navy for this oversight.

“I say inside the Gulf Stream; because every experienced
captain of a blockade runner made it a point to cross the Stream
early enough in the afternoon if possible to establish the ship’s
position by chronometer, so as to escape the influence of that
current upon his dead reckoning. The lead always gave indica-
tion of our distance from the land, but not, of course, of our
position; and the numerous salt works along the coast, where
evaporation was produced by fire, and which were at work night
and day, were visible long before the coast could be seen. Occa-
sionally, the whole inward voyage would he made under adverse
conditions. Cloudy, thick weather and heavy gales would pre-
vail so as to prevent any solar or lunar observations, and reduce
the dead reckoning to mere guesswork. In these cases, the
nautical knowledge and judgment of the captain would be taxed
to the utmost. The current of the Gulf Stream varies in veloc-
ity and, within certain limits, in direction; and the Stream
itself, almost as well defined as a river within its hanks under
ordinary circumstances, is impelled by a strong gale towards
the direction in which the wind is blowing, overflowing its
hanks, as it were. The counter current, too, inside of the Gulf
Stream is much influenced by the prevailing winds.

“Upon one occasion, while in command of the R. E. Lee,
formerly the Clyde built iron steamer Giraffe, we had experi-
enced very heavy and thick weather, and had crossed the Stream
and struck soundings about midday. The weather then clear-
ing, so that we could obtain an altitude near meridian, we found
ourselves at least forty miles north of our supposed position, and
near the shoals which extend in a southerly direction off Cape

BY PERMISSION AND THROUGH THE COURTESY OF HON. JOSEPHUS DANIELS.
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

great speed. As soon as one of them discovered a blockade
runner during daylight, she would attract other cruisers in the
vicinity by sending up a dense column of smoke, visible for
many miles in clear weather. A cordon of fast steamers sta-
tioned ten or fifteen miles apart, inside the Gulf Stream, and
in the course from Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington and
Charleston, would have been more effective in stopping block-
ade running than the whole United States Navy concentrated
off these ports. It was unaccountable to us why such a plan did
not occur to good Mr. Welles, but it was not our business to
suggest. I have no doubt, however, that the fraternity to which
I then belonged would unanimously have voted thanks and a
service of plate to the Honorable Secretary of the United States
Navy for this oversight.

“I say inside the Gulf Stream; because every experienced
captain of a blockade runner made it a point to cross the Stream
early enough in the afternoon if possible to establish the ship’s
position by chronometer, so as to escape the influence of that
current upon his dead reckoning. The lead always gave indica-
tion of our distance from the land, but not, of course, of our
position; and the numerous salt works along the coast, where
evaporation was produced by fire, and which were at work night
and day, were visible long before the coast could be seen. Occa-
sionally, the whole inward voyage would be made under adverse
conditions. Cloudy, thick weather and heavy gales would pre-
vail so as to prevent any solar or lunar observations, and reduce
the dead reckoning to mere guesswork. In these cases, the
nautical knowledge and judgment of the captain would be taxed
to the utmost. The current of the Gulf Stream varies in veloc-
ity and, within certain limits, in direction; and the Stream
itself, almost as well defined as a river within its banks under
ordinary circumstances, is impelled by a strong gale towards
the direction in which the wind is blowing, overflowing its
banks, as it were. The counter current, too, inside of the Gulf
Stream is much influenced by the prevailing winds.

“Upon one occasion, while in command of the R. E. Lee ,
formerly the Clyde built iron steamer Giraffe , we had experi-
enced very heavy and thick weather, and had crossed the Stream
and struck soundings about midday. The weather then clear-
ing, so that we could obtain an altitude near meridian, we found
ourselves at least forty miles north of our supposed position, and
near the shoals which extend in a southerly direction off Cape

Blockade Running

413

Lookout. It would be more perilous to run out to sea than to
continue on our course, for we had passed through the off-shore
line of blockaders, and the sky had become perfectly clear. I
determined to personate a transport bound to Beaufort, a port
which was in possession of the United States forces and the coal-
ing station of the fleet blockading Wilmington. The risk of
detection was not very great, for many of the captured blockade
runners were used as transports and dispatch vessels. Shaping
our course for Beaufort, and slowing down, as if we were in no
haste to get there, we passed several vessels, showing United
States colors to them all. Just as we were crossing the ripple
of shallow water off the flail’ of the shoals, we dipped our colors
to a sloop-of-war which passed three or four miles to the south
of us. The courtesy met prompt response ; but I have no doubt
her captain thought me a lubberly and careless seaman to shave
the shoals so closely. We stopped the engines when no vessels
were in sight; and I was relieved from a heavy burden of
anxiety as the sun sank below the horizon, and our course was
shaped at full speed for Masonboro Inlet.

“The staid old town of Wilmington was turned flopsy-turvy’
during the war. Here resorted speculators from all parts of
the South to attend the weekly auctions of imported cargoes;
and the town was infested with rogues and desperadoes, who
made a livelihood by robbery and murder. It was unsafe to
venture into the suburbs at night, and even in daylight there
were frequent conflicts in the public streets between the crews
of steamers in port and the soldiers stationed in the town, in
which knives and pistols would be freely used; and not infre-
quently a dead body with marks of violence upon it would rise
to the surface of the water in one of the docks. The civil au-
thorities were powerless to prevent crime. ‘Inter arma silent
leges' ! The agents and employees of different blockade-running
companies lived in magnificent style, paying a king’s ransom (in
Confederate money) for their household expenses, and nearly
monopolizing the supplies in the country market. Towards the
end of the war, indeed, fresh provisions were almost beyond the
reach of every one. Our family servant, newly arrived from
the country in Virginia, would sometimes return from market
with an empty basket, having flatly refused to pay what he
called ‘such nonsense prices’ for a bit of fresh beef or a handful
of vegetables. A quarter of lamb, at the time of which I now
write, sold for $100; a pound of tea, for $500. Confederate

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

money which in September, 1861, was nearly equal to specie
in value, had declined in September, 1862, to 225 ; in the same
month, 1863, to 400, and before September, 1864, to 2,000.

“Many of the permanent residents of the town had gone into
the country, letting their houses at enormous prices; those who
were compelled to remain kept themselves much secluded, the
ladies rarely being seen upon the more public streets. Many of
the fast young officers belonging to the army would get an occa-
sional leave to come to Wilmington, and would live at free
quarters on board the blockade runners or at one of the numer-
ous bachelor halls ashore.

“The convalescent soldiers from the Virginia hospitals were
sent by the route through Wilmington to their homes in the
South. The ladies of the town were organized by Mrs. DeRosset
into a society for the purpose of ministering to the wants of
these poor sufferers, the trains which carried them stopping an
hour or two at the station that their wounds might be dressed
and food and medicine supplied to them. These self-sacrificing,
heroic women patiently and faithfully performed the offices of
hospital nurses.

“Liberal contributions to this society were made by both com-
panies and individuals, and the long tables at the station were
spread with delicacies for the sick to be found nowhere else in
the Confederacy. The remains of the meals were carried by
the ladies to a camp of mere hoys — home guards — outside of
the town. Some of these children were scarcely able to carry a
musket, and were altogether unable to endure the exposure and
fatigue of field service ; and they suffered fearfully from
measles and typhoid fever. General Grant used a strong figure
of speech when he asserted that The cradle and the grave were
robbed to recruit the Confederate armies.’ The fact of a fearful
drain upon the population was not exaggerated. Both shared
the hardships and dangers of war with equal self-devotion to
the cause. It is true that a class of heartless speculators in-
fested the country, who profited by the scarcity of all sorts of
supplies ; hut this fact makes the self-sacrifice of the mass of the
Southern people more conspicuous; and no State made more
liberal voluntary contributions to the armies, or furnished better
soldiers, than North Carolina.

“On the opposite side of the river from Wilmington, on a
low, marshy flat, were erected the steam cotton presses, and
there the blockade runners took in their cargoes. Sentries were

Blockade Running

415

posted on the wharves, day and night, to prevent deserters from
getting on board and stowing themselves away; and the addi-
tional precaution of fumigating the outward-bound steamers at
Smithville was adopted; but, in spite of this vigilance, many
persons succeeded in getting a free passage abroad. These de-
serters, or ‘stowaways/ were, in most instances, sheltered by one
or more of the crew; in which event they kept their places of
concealment until the steamer had arrived at her port of desti-
nation, when they would profit by the first opportunity to leave
the vessel undiscovered. A small bribe would tempt the average
blockade-running sailor to connive at this means of escape. The
‘impecunious7 deserter fared worse, and would usually be forced
by hunger and thirst to emerge from his hiding place while the
steamer was on the outward voyage. A cruel device employed
by one of the captains effectually put a stop, I believe — certainly
a check — to this class of ‘stowaways.7 He turned three or four
of them adrift in the Gulf Stream, in an open boat, with a pair
of oars, and a few days7 allowance of bread and water.77

Captain M. P. Usina.

During my intercourse with officers of celebrated blockade-
running ships in the years 1863 and 1864, I met a mariner
named M. P. Usina, from Charleston/ familiarly known as Mike
Usina, whose skill and daring made him famous in Nassau and
Bermuda and in all of the Atlantic States. The American con-
sul at Nassau, Mr. Whiting, eager for his capture by the cruisers
which hovered near the British islands, bought Usina7s portraits
from a local photographer, and sent them broadcast among the
Federal commanders in order to identify him when captured, as
many Southerners escaped long confinement by claiming to be
Englishmen. Captain IJsina seemed to have a charmed life,
but he was in reality so cool under fire and so resourceful in a
tight place or situation, that he slipped through their fingers
frequently when his capture seemed certain.

I remember some of the incidents connected with his blockade
experience which stirred my blood long years ago and which I
still recall with something of the old-time enthusiasm. In a
speech before the Confederate Veterans7 Association of Savan-
nah, July 4, 1893, which I have carefully preserved, Captain
Usina told a number of thrilling stories of his career which
deserve honorable mention in the history of the strenuous times
which he most graphically described. On that occasion he said :

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“The men who ran the blockade had to be men who could
stand fire without returning it. It was a business in which
every man took his life in his hands, and he so understood it.
An ordinarily brave man had no business on a blockade runner.
He who made a success of it was obliged to have the cunning of
a fox, the patience of a Job, and the bravery of a Spartan
warrior. The United States Government wanted at first to
treat them as pirates, and was never satisfied to consider them
contrabandists. The runners must not be armed and must not
resist; they must simply be cool and quick and watchful and,
for the rest, trust to God and their good ship to deliver them
safely to their friends.

“The United States blockade squadron on the Atlantic coast
consisted of about 300 vessels of all kinds — sailing vessels, three-
deckers, monitors, iron-clads, and swift cruisers — most of them
employed to prevent the blockade runners from entering Charles-
ton and Wilmington, these being the ports where most of the
blockade running was done. At each of these ports there were
three lines of ships anchored in a semicircle, so that our vessels
had to run the gauntlet through these three lines before they
had the enemy astern and their haven ahead. Besides these,
the ocean between the Confederate ports and the Bermudas and
the West Indies was policed by many of the fastest ships that
money could buy or build, so that we had practically to run
two blockades to reach a Southern port. The swiftest of the
captured blockade runners were put into this service, and I have
more than once been chased by ships of which I had myself
been an officer.

“A few instances will suffice to illustrate the fact that the
risks to be taken by the blockade runners were not confined to
our own coast, and they will also illustrate the impunity with
which the Federal blockaders practically blockaded friendly
ports in violation of the neutrality laws governing nations at
peace with each other.

“English steamers, with an English crew and without cargo,
bound from one English port to another, were taken as prizes
simply because they were suspected of being brought to the
islands to be used as blockade runners.

“During the afternoon of March 3, 1863, while going from
Nassau to Havana in the steamer Stonewall Jackson , we were
sighted by the R. R. Cuyler , which chased us for thirteen hours
along the Cuban cgast until early the next morning, when we

Blockade Running

417

passed Morro Castle flying the Confederate flag, with the Cuyler
a short half-mile astern of ns flying the Stars and Stripes.

“In 1864, the Margaret and Jessie , bound from Charleston
to Nassau, was chased and fired into while running along the
coast of Elentheria, within the neutral distance — an English
league — the shot and shell passing over her falling into the
pineapple fields of the island. She was finally run ashore by
her captain to prevent her sinking from the effects of the
enemy’s shot.

“On one occasion I was awakened by the sound of cannon in
the early morning at Nassau, and imagine my surprise to see a
Confederate ship being fired at by a Federal man-of-war. The
Confederate proved to he the Antonica, Captain Coxetter, who
arrived off the port during the night and, waiting for a pilot
and daylight, found when daylight did appear that an enemy’s
ship was between him and the bar. There was nothing left for
him to do hut run the gauntlet and take his fire, which he did
in good shape, some of the shot actually falling into the harbor.
The Federal ship was commanded by Commodore Wilkes, who
became widely known from taking Mason and Slidell prisoners.
After the chase was over Wilkes anchored his ship, and when
the Governor sent to tell him that he must not remain at anchor
there, he said: ‘Tell the Governor, etc., etc., he would anchor

where he pleased.’ The military authorities sent their artillery
across to Hog Island, near where he was anchored, and we
Confederates thought the fun was about to begin. But Wilkes
remained just long enough to communicate with the consul and
get what information he wanted, and left.

“All this vigilance on the part of the Yankees made the trip a
very hazardous one, and the man who failed to keep the sharpest
kind of a lookout was more apt to bring up in a Northern prison
than in a Confederate port. Then, too, the Yankee cruisers
managed to keep pretty well posted as to our movements through
the American consuls stationed at the different ports frequented
by our vessels.

“Having occasion to go from Nassau to Bermuda, and there
being no regular line between the islands, I chartered a schooner
to take me and part of my crew there, and we had sailed within
about sixty miles of our destination when, at daylight, we were
spoken by the United States man-of-war Shenandoah. Her
officer asked : ‘What schooner is that, where from and where

hound to?’ Our captain was below and I answered him:

418 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

‘Schooner Royal , bound from Nassau to Bermuda/ He or-
dered: ‘Lower your boat and come alongside/ I said: ‘I’ll

see you/ etc., etc., and then, ‘I won’t/ Nothing further was
said, hut in about twenty minutes they sent an armed boat along-
side.

“In the meantime I had our captain called and the English
ensign hoisted. Upon coming on deck the officer, quite a young
lieutenant, was shown below, and after examining the vessel’s
papers, which he found O. K., he was about to return to his
ship when I invited him to have a glass of wine with me. I
have never forgotten his answer: ‘I hadn’t oughter, hut I

reckon I will.’ After a little wine he grew talkative. He asked
if I had not answered their hail, and when I replied ‘Yes,’ said
‘I thought so, it sounded like you.’ ‘Why, what do you know
about me?’ I asked. ‘Oh, I know enough to surprise you/
‘That is something no one has ever done yet.’ ‘Would you he
surprised if I told you that your name is Usina?’ ‘Oh, no,
my name is Marion Bobinson.’ ‘How about the man who sat on
the rail near you when I came on board? He is your man
Irvin.’ ‘You have it had this morning,’ said I; ‘Does wine
usually affect you that way?’ ‘You know that I am giving it
to you straight,’ said he. ‘Oh, no, you’re badly mixed.’ ‘Will
you think I’m mixed when I tell you that that little Erenchman
is John Sassard, your chief engineer; that red-headed fellow
over there is Nelson, your chief officer; these are all your men,
and you are going to Bermuda to take charge of a new ship ?’
‘Well,’ said I, ‘you certainly have it bad, you had better not
take any more wine.’ ‘Will you acknowledge I am right now?’
said he, and produced my photograph with my history written
on the hack of it. I had to acknowledge it then; hut I was
under the protection of Her Most Gracious Majesty, and he
had to admit his inability to take me now, though he promised
to capture me before long and boasted that he had come very
near me often before. But ‘close’ didn’t count any more then
than it does now, and he promised to treat me well if he should
ever have the chance, and so we parted good friends.

“I afterwards found out that his ship had called at Nassau
shortly after our leaving there, and the consul had given him
my picture and the information which he sprung on me. I
learned then that the photographers there had been making
quite a nice thing selling the pictures of blockade runners to
the United States authorities, together with what information

Blockade Running

419

they could gather about the originals; and the result was that,
with hut one exception (Captain Coxetter, who was too wise to
have his picture taken), the Yankees had all our pictures, which
did then, and perhaps do still, adorn the rogues’ gallery in
Ludlow Street Jail, New York City. Thus many a poor fellow
who thought he was successfully passing himself off as an Eng-
lishman was identified and sent to Lafayette or Warren, two
winter resorts that are not too pleasantly remembered by some
of my old shipmates.

“The enemy’s ships were provided with powerful calcium
searchlights, which, if a blockade runner was in reach, would
light her up about as well as an electric light would at the
present time, and make her a perfect target for the enemy’s fire.
I have several times been just far enough to he out of reach of
the light and by circling around it dodged them in the darkness.
Another plan they adopted was to throw rockets over the ship
occasionally, showing to all the vessels of the fleet the course
taken by the fugitive. I think one of the worst frights I had
during the war was the landing of a rocket on deck close to
where I was standing. While we could not circumvent their
searchlights, I succeeded in making the rocket scheme useless
by providing myself with a quantity of them, firing hack at
them whenever they fired at us, or firing them in every direction,
making it impossible to tell in which direction the chased ship
was going.

“Among the vessels blockading Wilmington in 1864 was the
little side- wheel steamer Nansemond, after the war a revenue
cutter, and stationed at this place. She had a rifle gun mounted
at each end, and being quite fast made several valuable captures.
I remember that among the craft captured by her was the
steamer Hope, Capt. William Hammer, of Charleston, with
1,800 bales of cotton and more men on board the Hope than
there were on board the Nansemond , but, unfortunately, while
the Hope was a stronger and larger ship and had more men, she
was not allowed to defend herself and had to submit to the
inevitable.

“One afternoon, while in command of the Atalanta and ap-
proaching Wilmington, I was sighted by the Nansemond and
was being chased away from my port. Although I had the
faster vessel, I realized that if the chase continued much longer
I would be driven so far from my destination that I would not
be able to get back that night, and so determined that, although

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

I had no guns to fight with, I might try a game of bluff. Hoist-
ing the Confederate flag, I changed my course directly for him,
and in a few minutes the tables were turned and the chaser was
being chased, the Nansemond seeking with all possible speed
the protection of the ships stationed off the bar, and that night
the Atalanta was safe once more in Dixie.

“Several years afterwards I was a passenger on hoard the
little revenue cutter Endeavor , better known as the Hunhey
Dory , bound from Tybee to Savannah, and a stranger to every
one on hoard. The conversation drifted into war reminis-
cences. Mr. Hapold, the officer in charge of the j Hunhey Dory ,
had been an engineer on hoard the Nansemond when stationed
on the blockade off Wilmington, and while giving his experi-
ence, among other incidents, he told of the narrow escape they
had when the Nansemond was decoyed away from the fleet by
a cruiser, under the guise of a blockade runner, that, when she
thought the Nansemond was far enough away from her friends,
ran up the Confederate flag and attempted to make a prize of
her. ‘But/ said he, ‘the little Nansemond' s speed saved her.’
You can imagine their surprise when I informed them that I
was in charge of the Confederate vessel, which was an unarmed
ship chasing one that was armed — a clear case of ‘Run, Big
’Fraid, Little ’Fraid’Jl catch you!’

“As a rule, the blockade runners were ships very slightly
built, of light draft and totally unfit to brave the storms of the
Atlantic. Yet the worse the weather the better it was liked,
since a rough sea greatly reduced the danger from the enemy’s
guns. In most of the ships the boilers and engines were very
much exposed, and a single shot to strike the boiler meant the
death of every one on hoard. We had no lighthouses or marks
of any kind to guide us, except the enemy’s fleet, and had to
depend upon our observations and surroundings on approaching
the coast. Our ships were painted gray, to match the horizon
at night ; some were provided with telescopic funnels, and masts
hinged, so that they could he lowered, and others had the masts
taken out altogether. A great source of danger, and one which
was unavoidable, was the black smoke caused from our fires, and
for this sign the blockaders were always on the lookout. The
United States Government having forbidden the exportation of
anthracite coal, there was nothing for us to do hut use bitumin-
ous and take all precautions possible to prevent the issuing of
black smoke from our funnels.

Blockade Running

421

“On dark nights it was very difficult to discern their low
hulls, and moonlight nights, as a rule, were nights of rest, few
ships venturing to run the gauntlet when the moon was bright.
Ho lights were used at sea. Everything was in total silence and
darkness. To speak above a whisper or to strike a match would
subject the offender to immediate punishment. Orders were
passed along the deck in whispers, canvas curtains were dropped
to the water’s edge around the paddles to deaden the noise, and
men exposed to view on deck were dressed in sheets, moving
about like so many phantoms on a phantom ship.

“The impression always prevailed, and still prevails to a
great extent, that the South has no sailors, hut the record of the
Southern sailors during the war is second to none that the world
has ever produced, and should the emergency arise again, the
descendants of the same men will emulate the example set by
their fathers. I do not think their services have ever been
understood or appreciated, from the fact that so little of their
authentic history has ever found its way into the hands of the
reading public.

“Most of them had all their relatives and friends in the
Southern service, suffering untold hardships and exposing their
lives daily, and they felt it their duty to risk their ships and
their lives to bring food to our starving countrymen, determined
if their ship was stopped that it must be by the enemy and not
by their own order.

“During the first two years of the war the blockade runners
were almost exclusively officered by English and Scotch, but
during the last two years the danger was very much increased,
and while there can be no question as to the bravery of the
British sailor, it required the additional incentive of patriotism
to induce men to venture into the service. It is noticeable that
nearly all the officers during the last two years were Confeder-
ates.

“The first steamship to which I was attached was the side-
wheel steamer Leopard. She was officered entirely by Southern
men: Captain Black of Savannah, commander; Capt. Robert
Lockwood, of Charleston, pilot, and as gallant a man as the war
produced. Cool, quiet, and never losing his wits, he was an
ideal blockade pilot. In the engine room were Peck, Barhot,
Sassard, and Miller, four splendid mechanics and gallant fel-
lows all. The deck officers were Bradford, Horsey, and myself,
three hoys, twenty-four, twenty-three and twenty-two years of

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

age, respectively, but each had received his baptism of fire in
Virginia — Bradford, with a Virginia artillery company; Hor-
sey, with the Washington Artillery, of Charleston; and I, with
the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, of Savannah. Yet, though long in
the service, not one of us three ever saw the inside of a Federal
prison. Such were the men who supplied the munitions of war,
clothing, and food for our armies up to the close of the war,
while the United States Government, with an immense fleet of
ships and the whole world to draw upon, was powerless to
prevent it.

“When I was promoted to the command of the Mary Celeste,
I was fortunate to have associated with me as brave and faith-
ful a set of officers as ever fell to the lot of any man; and I
needed them, for I was the boy captain, the youngest man to
command a blockade runner. My chief engineer was John
Sassard, of Charleston, and I have never known a better engi-
neer nor a more conscientious Christian gentleman. I never
knew him to take a drink, and I never heard an oath issue from
his lips. Shrinking from anything like notoriety, he was a true
Confederate and as brave as brave could be. I think one of
the best illustrations of his nerve was an incident that occurred
on my first voyage in command. We had succeeded in getting
through the blockade off Wilmington and shaped a course for
Bermuda. Daylight found us in the Gulf Stream, the weather
dirty, raining, and a heavy sea, our ship small and heavily
loaded. The rain clearing away, there was disclosed to our view
a large brig-rigged steamer within easy gunshot, with all her
canvas set, bearing down upon us. I found out afterwards that
she was the steamship Fulton, a very fast ship built for the
passenger trade between Hew York and Havre, France.

“We altered our course head to wind and sea, causing the
chasing steamer to do the same and to take in her sails, which
gave us a little advantage; but she was a large, able ship, and
made good weather, while our little craft would bury herself
clean out of sight, taking the green seas in over the forecastle.
Calling Mr. Sassard, I said: ‘John, this will never do. That

ship will soon sink us or catch us unless we do better.’ He
answered in his quiet manner: ‘Captain, I am doing all that

a sane man dare do.’ ‘Then,’ said I, ‘you must be insane, and
that quick, for it is destruction or Fort Lafayette for us, and I
would rather go to the former. I am going to lighten her for-
ward, so that she will go into the sea easier, and you must get

Blockade Running

423

more revolutions out of the engines.7 He went below, and I took
forty-five bales of cotton from forward, rolled them abaft the
paddles, cut them open, so that the enemy could make no use
of them, and threw them overboard. The loose cotton floating
in our wake caused him to deviate from his course occasionally,
which helped us some. About this time Sassard sent for me to
come down to the engine-room, where he said : ‘Captain, I am

getting all the revolutions possible out of the engines. I am
following steam full stroke; this is a new ship, first voyage;
these boilers are, I hope, good English iron. All there is now
between us and eternity are these boilers. How much steam
there is on them I don’t know.7 He had a kedge anchor made
fast to the safety valve. In my opinion it takes a mighty brave
man to do that. I went on deck, threw the log and found the
ship to he making seventeen miles an hour, into a heavy head
sea. ‘All right,7 I said, ‘keep that up a little while, and there
is no ship in the United States Havy that can catch her.7 We
were soon out of range of the enemy’s guns and enabled to
reduce the pressure on the boilers. Sassard and I never sepa-
rated until after the surrender. My first assistant engineer,
Middleton, was chief of the ill-fated Lelia, and lost his life
when she went down at the mouth of the Mersey with very
nearly all hands. My second assistant engineer was the heroic
McKay, who afterwards drove the Armstrong for seven hours,
while three ships were raining shot and shell at her. My pilot,
Thomas M. Thompson, of Wilmington, was another officer who
knew no fear.

“To illustrate more fully the kind of men with whom I was
associated, I will relate a few incidents that occurred on hoard
the Atalanta on her last run into Wilmington, when she was
turned over to the naval authorities and converted into the
cruiser Tallahassee.

“Just before leaving Bermuda for Wilmington, several of
our fastest ships returned after unsuccessful attempts to get
into the Confederacy and reported that the ocean and coast were
alive with the enemy’s ships and that it was impossible to get
through. We were ready for sea, however, and I determined
to make the trial. We approached the entrance to Wilmington
Harbor on a beautiful moonlight night in July, only one day
before the full moon. Before approaching the blockaders the
officers and men were notified that the attempt was about to he
made, with the chances very much against us. (There were

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

thirty-five blockaders anchored there the afternoon before,
counted from Fort Caswell.) But, I said that we had four
hundred tons of meat for starving soldiers and I intended to
make a run for it, and if any of them were unwilling to take
the risk, they were at liberty to take the small boats and try to
reach the beach. To their credit, he it said, not one man availed
himself of the privilege. When I said to Mr. Thompson, our
fearless pilot, ‘Tom, I am going to make the attempt, what do
you think of it?’ his answer was, ‘I am ready, sir, whenever
you are’; and not another word was said except the necessary
orders for the management of the ship.

“Slowly approaching the vessel I supposed to he the flagship,
which we used as a point of departure to find the inlet, there be-
ing no lights or other marks to find the entrance, I was notified
by the engineer that he could not hold his steam, and that we
must either go faster or he would he obliged to open his safety
valve, something never allowed when the enemy was within
hearing. I told him to hold on a few moments and he would
have a chance to work his steam off. We could distinctly see
the ships in the beautiful moonlight, and they were so many
that we had to steer directly for and through them. As we
neared the big flagship she fired a blank cartridge and then a
solid shot across our bows; and when near enough to hail us,
her officer ordered us in very emphatic language to stop that
ship or he’d blow us out of the water.

“ ‘Hold on,’ I said, ‘until I speak to the engineer,’ which I
did through the speaking tube; but instead of stopping the
engines, he threw her wide open and she almost flew from under
our feet. Our neighbors soon found that we were not doing
very much stopping and attempted to do the stopping them-
selves ; but, fortunately for us, they failed to do so.

“My chief officer, a Virginian named Charles Melson (and
well named), was ordered by me to ascertain the depth of the
water, as our ship was approaching shoal water very rapidly.
In his deliberate manner he went to the leadsman, found out,
and reported so slowly that I reproached him for it. Said I,
‘Can not even a shell make you move faster?’ (Two of them
had exploded between us in the meantime.) His answer was,
‘What is the use, sir? I might go just fast enough to get in
the way of one of them.’ This man was afterwards in com-
mand of the Armstrong , bound from Wilmington to Bermuda,
about the middle of November, 1864, when, after successfully

Blockade Running

425

eluding the vigilance of the blockaders around the inlet, she
was sighted at 7 o’clock in the morning and then began — in my
opinion — the most memorable chase in the war. She was first
seen by the R. R. Cuyler , which was soon joined by two other
ships ; and the Armstrong was soon in the position of the little
hare and three large hounds in pursuit. The Cuyler was a
large screw steamer built for the passenger trade between Sa-
vannah and blew York. She was named after a former president
of the Central Railroad, and before the war was considered the
fastest steamer out of New York. At 10 a. m., the first shot
was fired from the Cuyler , and for seven long hours Nelson
walked the bridge, cool and collected, not more excited, in fact,
than if the Armstrong were moored to a dock in a safe harbor.
The Cuyler alone fired 195 shot and shell. The top of the
paddle-box was shot away; Nelson, covered up with the wreck,
shook himself clear. An exploding shell set fire to the cabin;
the hose was let down, the pumps turned on, and the fire put
out with less excitement than would he seen at a fire in any
city in time of peace. The anchors and chains were thrown
overboard, and the masts were cut away. More than 400 bales
of cotton were dumped into the sea, and everything possible was
done to lighten the ship and increase her speed ; but of no avail,
the sea was too rough for the little fugitive to compete with the
large ships that were chasing her.

“At 5 p. m. the captain of the Cuyler hailed Nelson and
ordered him to stop the ship or he would blow them out of the
water, which seemed to be a favorite way the blockaders had of
expressing themselves. Just about that time the Armstrong's
engine-frame broke in two and she was a prize.

“The first boat that hoarded her had in it a lieutenant and a
surgeon; the latter, before leaving his boat to go on hoard the
Armstrong , asked: Tow many killed and wounded?’ and,

strange to say, not a man was scratched. It seemed miraculous
when we consider that all hands, about forty men, were on deck
engaged in throwing the cargo overboard. One of her crew
afterwards told me that he could have filled a peck measure with
the grapeshot that were gathered up about the decks, and that
the pieces of shell were shoveled overboard. An officer of the
Cuyler said to one of the prisoners, ‘We have captured twenty-
two blockade runners, and I think I know whereof I speak when
I say your captain is the bravest man that runs the blockade.’
The Armstrong made a trip to Savannah from New York after
the war and was called the Savannah.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“The leadsman on board a blockade runner occupied a very
responsible position; be bad to have great physical endurance
and courage. When shoal water was reached, the safety of the
ship and the lives of all on board depended upon bis skill and
faithfulness. Were he disposed to be treacherous, be could, by
false soundings, put the ship in the bands of the enemy or run
her in the breakers and endanger the lives of all.

“My leadsman was a slave owned by myself. On the last
trip of the Atalanta , while under fire, the ship going very fast
toward shoal water, I thought possibly be might get rattled,
and to test him I said : ‘Irwin, you can’t get correct soundings,
the ship is going too fast, I’ll slow her down for you.’ He
answered : ‘This is no time to slow down, sir, you let her go, I’ll
give you the bottom’ ; and be did, be being a leadsman without
a peer. I have bad him in the chains for hours in cold winter
weather, with the spray flying over him cold enough to freeze
the marrow in bis bones, the ship often in very shoal water,
frequently but a foot to spare under her, and sometimes not that.
Yet I never knew him to make a mistake or give an incorrect
cast of the lead. He is the man to whom, when pointing to the
island of Hew Providence, I said : ‘Every man on that island is
as free as I am, so will you be when we get there.’ He an-
swered: ‘I did not want to come here to be free, I could have
gone to the Yankees long ago if I bad wished.’ And after-
wards, when the war was over, I said to him: ‘I am going to
England, perhaps never to see Savannah again, you bad better
go home.’ His answer was : ‘I can not go without you’ ; and he
did not. The feeling that existed between us can only be under-
stood by Southern men ; by a Northern man, never.

“My brave old quartermaster, William Cutbbert, who bad
been with me in the chances and changes of blockade running,
always took bis place at the wheel on trying occasions. He bad
the courage necessary to steer a ship without flinching through
the whole United States fleet. He was a sailor, every inch of
him. He it was who, when I beard a crash and asked him if be
was hurt, answered: ‘We are all right, sir, but I do not know
bow much wheel there is left, and the compass is gone ; give me
a star to steer by.’ A shot fired by a ship astern of us bad passed
the two men at the wheel, taken out two spokes, destroyed the
compass, and buried itself in the deck. He was steering the
ship as though nothing unusual bad happened.

“While in command of the Armstrong , a very poorly built,

Blockade Running

427

light draft, side- wheel ship, on a trip from Nassau to Wilming-
ton, having experienced very heavy weather, our steam-pipe was
injured to such an extent that we found it impossible to make
more than three miles an hour. .At that rate of speed we could
not reach the entrance to Wilmington before daylight, and to
remain at sea would place us at the mercy of the cruisers, then
as thick as bees. So we shaped our course to make the land in
the neighborhood of Georgetown, S. C.

“When daylight broke, the weather bitterly cold, we found
ourselves among three of the enemy’s ships lying at anchor near
the entrance to Georgetown, the farthest not more than two
miles from us. We, of course, ran away from them as fast as
our crippled condition would allow, expecting to be chased and
captured in short order; but, to our surprise and delight, they
remained quietly at anchor, and we continued on our course and,
when far enough to feel safe, circled around them and came to
anchor ourselves under the beach near Little River Inlet, about
twenty miles from the mouth of the Cape Fear. This remark-
able luck can only be accounted for by the extreme cold, which
must have prevented the Yankee ships from keeping a proper
lookout.

“After making all preparations for setting fire to the ship
and landing the people if we should be discovered by the Fed-
erals, we blew off our steam and proceeded to make temporary
repairs to the steam-pipe.

“Before coming to anchor my attention was attracted to a
party of six men on shore making signals to us. I sent a boat
and brought off the men, who proved to be Federal prisoners
escaped from Florence, S. C., and who, after many days of
suffering in a strange country, had succeeded in reaching the
coast, only to find themselves prisoners on board a blockade
runner instead of one of Uncle Sam’s gunboats, which they
fondly imagined us to be. One poor fellow remarked: (1 be-
lieve the dogs would catch a fellow in this country; this is the
third time I have escaped, only to be recaptured each time.’

“I had on board at this time seven Confederates who had
escaped from Johnson’s Island, and whom it was my good for-
tune to come across in Halifax, N. S. Having been on board
ship some time, they were anxious to get on shore, so I landed
and found that we had anchored in the neighborhood of some
salt works, which were quite numerous on this coast, and whose
fires at night frequently served us in lieu of lighthouses.

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“While ashore I secured transportation by wagons, and sent
my prisoners in charge of the seven Confederates across to the
railroad and to Wilmington, where they met me the next day.
While lying at anchor with no steam and perfectly helpless,
three of the enemy’s ships passed us almost close enough to see
the men on deck, but took no notice of us, evidently mistaking
us for one of their own ships. At dark, having completed the
necessary repairs to the steam-pipe, we weighed our anchor and
at 11 p. m. were safely anchored under the guns of Fort Caswell.

“At one time I was one of a party of four who were waiting
at the island of Bermuda for a new ship. We became tired of
the poor hotel, kept by a Northern man of whom we were not
very fond, hut whose hostelry was the only one there. Having
an opportunity to do so, we rented a furnished cottage, and for
a little while enjoyed the comforts of a bachelors’ hall. Among
our visitors were the officers of the British Army and Navy
stationed there, and we became very good friends with most of
them. They professed to be warm Southern sympathizers while
under our spiritual influence , and it was not long before I had
an opportunity to test the good will of one of them.

“Some time in October, 1864, I was anchored a few miles
from Nassau, taking in a lot of arms and ammunition from a
schooner alongside. We were all ready to sail, with the excep-
tion of this lighter load, and had our fires banked, ready to get
steam at a moment’s notice. The American consul found out
and notified the British authorities that we were taking in
contraband of war, and an officer was sent from the British
frigate then in port to investigate. As soon as the unwelcome
visitor was seen approaching, the engineer was ordered to pull
down his fires, and to he prepared to leave at once. Anxiously
watching the approaching boat, I recognized the officer to he an
old Bermuda acquaintance, Lieutenant Wilson, who had par-
taken of our hospitality at our bachelors’ cottage. As he came
alongside I said : ‘Hello, Wilson ! What brought you here V
He answered : ‘It is reported that you are taking in contraband
of war, and I am sent to look after you.’

“As he came over the side a case of rifles was being hoisted in
from the other side. ‘What have you there V he asked. ‘Hard-
ware,’ I said. ‘Would you like to examine that case now, or
will you come below and have a glass of wine first V

“He decided to take the wine first, and spent quite a while
sampling some excellent ‘green seal’ and indulging in reminis-

Blockade Running

429

cences of the pleasant days spent together at Bermuda, and when
it was time to return to his ship he had forgotten to examine the
cases of hardware, which were being hurried over the side in
the meantime. Returning to his boat, not without some assist-
ance, as he did not seem to have his sea-legs aboard, he hade me
farewell, saying, TTsina, take good care of that hardware — that
hardware, you know.’

“Before he reached his ship and another boat could be sent,
the hardware was all on board, and the Armstrong was steaming
for Dixie, where the hardware was soon in the hands of men
who knew something about that kind of hardware.

“While blockade runners dreaded moonlight, and gladly
availed themselves of dark nights and stormy weather to run
into the Confederate ports or out of them, yet on several occa-
sions the gauntlet was run successfully in the daytime.

“On one occasion we reached the neighborhood of the block-
aders off Wilmington in a gale of wind. The sea was so heavy
that if we should get ashore it meant the destruction of the ship
and the loss of all hands, so we determined, if we could live
the night through (of which there was considerable doubt), to
make a dash for it at daylight.

“Just as the day dawned we found ourselves alongside the
United States steamship Huntsville (an old Savannah trader),
which immediately gave chase and commenced firing at us. The
noise of the guns attracted the attention of the other vessels, and
we soon found ourselves in a hornet’s nest. In consequence of
the rough sea, however, their firing was very inaccurate, and the
batteries near Dort Caswell soon began firing over us at them
as fast as they came within range, causing them to keep at a
respectful distance, to cease firing at us, and to haul off as we
neared the fort, so that it was not very long before we were in a
position to receive the congratulations of our friends over our
lucky escape.

“On another occasion I made the land between Georgetown
and Wilmington in the afternoon, and as the night would soon
be upon us I thought I would get a look at the enemy before
dark. Accordingly, I steamed slowly towards them, keeping a
bright lookout.

“As we approached Lockwood’s Folly Inlet, twelve miles from
Fort Caswell, it became apparent that the ship stationed there
to guard that point was absent from her post, and if we could
reach there without being seen by the other ships, there was a

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

chance that we could gain the protection of our batteries before
they could head us off, and we determined to try it. As we
rounded the point of shoals off Lockwood’s Lolly, we came in
full view of all their ships; it seemed to me that there were
hundreds of them. They at once recognized our character and
purpose, and then began a most exciting race for a given point,
our ship going for all she was worth, hugging the shore and
depending upon the leadsman to keep her afloat; the enemy’s
ships were coming in to head us off and the booming of their
guns reminded me of the music of a pack of hounds in full
chase, hut on this particular occasion I failed to appreciate the
music. The signal station, located between Lockwood’s Lolly
and Lort Caswell, signaling the fort, the commanding officer
rushed a couple of Whitworth guns down the beach in our direc-
tion, and in a little while we heard the welcome sound of their
shots going over our heads, and we were safe. Lrom the time
we were seen by the enemy until we were under the protection
of our guns did not occupy more than forty-five minutes, hut to
us it seemed an age.

“One of the most valuable cargoes ever brought into the Con-
federacy was brought in by the old cruiser Sumter , converted
into a blockade runner and commanded by E. C. Reed. Her
cargo consisted of arms, ammunition, clothing, cloth, medicines,
and not the least important articles were the two big Blakely
guns, which some of you now present may have seen mounted
at Charleston. They were so large and unwieldly that they
were loaded with their muzzles sticking out of the hatches.

“The Sumter was a slow ship, and could not make more than
nine miles an hour. IJnahle to get in during the night, Reed <
found himself near the enemy’s ships at daylight. To attempt
to go off shore with so slow a ship meant a chase and certain
capture. So he determined to try a game of bluff. Hoisting
the American ensign, he steamed in amongst them, paying not
the least attention to their signals or movements, and when they
awoke to the fact that the Sumter was not one of themselves, she
had the inside track and was soon welcomed by the guns of
Lort Lisher.

“The devotion of the women of the Confederacy, and their
heroic conduct during our struggle for existence, will always he
held in grateful remembrance by the veterans of the Lost Cause.
In my career as a blockade runner I chanced to see several
instances of nerve displayed by them, which would do honor to

Blockade Running

431

an old soldier. On one of onr trips from Bermuda to Wilming-
ton I had with me as a passenger a lady from Richmond. On
nearing the blockaders I sent her down to the cabin, which was
below the water line and comparatively safe while we were
under fire. A little later, during the hot chase and fire which
we had to take, I heard a voice at my elbow and, turning, saw
her at my side. I said : ‘I told you to go below and stay there’ ;
hut she answered : ‘I could not remain there in the darkness,
hearing the guns; if you will let me stay here I’ll give you
no trouble.’ Well, you may remain,’ I told her, ‘but you must
not speak to any one.’ She never left the bridge until we were
safely anchored under the guns of Fort Caswell, and I think
was the coolest person on hoard the ship.

“Upon another occasion the steamer Lynx , Capt. E. C. Reed,
while attempting to get into Wilmington, was completely rid-
dled by the enemy’s ships, and, finding her in a sinking condi-
tion, she was run ashore near Fort Fisher, to prevent her sink-
ing in deep water, the crew escaping to the beach in small boats.
A lady passenger, a resident of Wilmington, was sent below
when the firing began, where she remained until the boats were
ready to land on the beach ; she was found standing knee-deep
in the water, obeying orders ‘to remain until sent for.’

“One more incident and I am done with the ladies. During
the bombardment of Sumter our ship was selected, on account
of her speed, to take important dispatches from the Confederacy
to Europe, and we had on hoard as passengers a bridal couple.
We had to pass out through a terrible cross-fire from the bat-
teries on Morris Island and James Island and the ironclads
anchored in Morris Island Channel, which was returned by
Sumter, Moultrie, Ripley, Castle Pinckney, and the Confeder-
ate vessels. After passing through the fireworks display in the
neighborhood of Sumter, the vessels outside the bar made it
lively for us, but daylight found us well to sea with no enemy
in sight. At the beginning of the firing, my attention was at-
tracted to the bridal couple. The groom had himself spread out
upon the deck-load of cotton, while the bride was standing
quietly near by. I said to her : ‘Are you not frightened, Mrs.
B. V ‘Yes, I am frightened,’ she said ; ‘this is terrible, hut we
are in the hands of the Almighty.’ You can imagine the respect
I entertained ever after for the gentleman who, with such an
example before him, displayed such arrant cowardice.

“Sailors have always been charged with being superstitious;

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

but while I do not think there is any superstition in my compo-
sition, yet I think blockade running was a business well calcu-
lated to develop it, as is indicated, for instance, in the names of
some of the ships, the Phantom , Will-o'-the-Wisp , Banshee ,
Whisper, Dream , Owl , Bat, and others of like character, the
usual objection to sailing on Friday, the carrying of a corpse,
etc. One of the funniest notions that came under my observa-
tion was that if passage could be obtained for freight shipped
with a certain cross-eyed Captain K., it would he a success.

“While, as I said, I do not think I am given to superstition,
yet I had with me a mascot that, I believe, was at that time one
of the most widely known dogs that ever existed. I was known
as the man that owned the dog ! He was photographed at Ber-
muda, and the artist realized quite a neat sum from the sale of
his pictures. He was left with me by a shipmate who died at
sea, and when dying frequently called for ‘Tinker.’ I cher-
ished him for his master’s sake, and afterwards became warmly
attached to him for his own. He was a terrier, a great ratter,
and fond of the water. He was my constant companion. He
seemed to know when we were approaching the enemy and to
be on the alert, and when under fire would follow me step by
step.

“It was our custom, in anticipation of capture or destruction
of the ship, to prepare the boats for leaving the ship the after-
noon before running through the fleet. Tinker seemed to in-
spect the work and to devote most particular attention to the
captain’s boat. The sailors wondered how he knew one boat
from another, but he certainly did.

“When I placed my chief officer, Helson, in command of the
Armstrong , I induced some of my men whom I knew could be
depended upon to go with him, as I was more than anxious to
have him succeed. Among those that I approached was my old
stand-by, William Cuthbert. His answer was, ‘I do not like to
refuse you, but I am too old a man now to go to Fort Lafayette
in the wintertime; and if you leave the ship and take Tinker
with you I know we will be captured.’ I said to him, ‘I am
surprised to hear a man of your intelligence express yourself
in that way. What has the dog to do with the safety of the
ship ? I am ashamed of you.’ ‘Well, sir,’ he replied, ‘you may
call it superstition, or anything you please, but as sure as you
leave the ship and take Tinker with you we will be captured.’
After considerable persuasion he consented, very unwillingly,

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433

to go, saying, Til go in the ship to please you, sir, but, I know
how it will be.’ The ship was captured; and when we met
again his first words were : ‘I told you so, sir.’

“I had with me as chief officer an Englishman, who was a
very intelligent shipmaster. ITe was promoted to command, and
when about to try his luck, came to me, saying, ‘Captain, let me
have Tinker just for one trip and here is five hundred dollars in
gold.’ I said, ‘Green, two fools, you and I’ ; hut I did not let
him have the dog. I could relate a great number of incidents
to illustrate the value placed upon Tinker by blockade runners,
but I’ll inflict only one more upon you.

“I sailed for Wilmington from Bermuda in the steamship
Rattlesnake about the 20th of January, 1865. Eight hours
after I left Bermuda, Captain Maffitt, in command of the Owl ,
arrived at Nassau with the news that the forts at the mouth of
the Cape Eear River had fallen. My friends at the island
thought I was sure to he captured. Col. James Crenshaw, who
before the war was a criminal lawyer, practicing in Richmond,
and at this time was part owner and agent of our ships at the
islands, had been a sailor in his young days, and certainly not
an ignorant one. When told of the great danger of capture to
which we were exposed, he told my wife to make herself easy;
as I had Tinker with me, I was all right. Upon approaching
Nassau a few days afterwards, pointing to my flag, he said:
‘There is the Rattlesnake ; didn’t I tell you so V I was lying at
anchor in the harbor. I think this was the last attempt made
to get into Wilmington, and an account of it may interest you.

“We reached the coast early in the night, in fact before it
was yet dark, hut quite hazy ; so much so that we could not see
a ship any distance, when suddenly I found myself surrounded
by a great number of lights. When you remember that the
ships of the blockade squadrons were always in darkness, with
no lights set, you can imagine my surprise. Proceeding toward
the entrance, we found our passage almost obstructed by the
enemy’s ships, they were so many, and, stranger than all, not a
shot fired at us, and no one demanding that we either ‘stop that
ship, or he’d blow us out of the water.’ We approached Eort
Eisher near enough to call the signal officer, who responded in-
stantly. I remarked to my signal officer: ‘There is something
up, I never had so prompt an answer before ; they are on the
alert tonight.’

“We reported: ‘Steamship Rattlesnake , bound in, set range

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

lights/ An answer came as quick as thought: ‘All right, the
lights will be set/ We signaled our respects to Colonel Lamb,
and asked about his health. The answer was : ‘The colonel is
quite well. (He was then lying dangerously wounded.) How
are all on hoard, and what is the news from Bermuda V I in-
structed the officer to amuse himself talking to them, that I
was going aloft, which I did, and as I reached the masthead
and could look over the low sandhills which line the North Caro-
lina coast, I could see the camp fires of the armies, and decided
that either there had been an attack on Fort Fisher, or there
soon would he one. Upon reaching the deck I said to the pilot :
‘The tide is falling, and I think we will not take the risk on a
falling tide. I will wait until the flood tide makes, and go in
just before daylight. I remained among the fleet the best part
of the night. I counted seven monitors; we came very near
colliding with three of them, and not a word was said and not
a shot was fired. I concluded that we had met with a very cool
reception, and it was not a healthy place for us just then; so, at
2 a. m., I shaped our course for Nassau. When, upon arrival
there, I asked the pilot what was the news from Wilmington, he
answered : ‘Wilmington has gone up the spout, sir/ I learned
afterwards that several ships had gone in and congratulated
themselves upon getting in so easily ; hut to their dismay, when
the hoarding officer came on hoard, he wore the blue instead of
the gray. At the fall of Fort Fisher our signal-book fell into
the hands of the enemy, and all that was necessary was to draw
the ships in and take possession, which accounted for our not
being shot at.

“After the surrender, on my way to England, I buried my 1
faithful Tinker among the icebergs of the North Atlantic, and
every man on board stood with uncovered head when he was
consigned to his watery grave. When blockade running ceased,
his spirits drooped, his occupation gone, and he soon sickened
and died.

“His master felt much the same way, but survived. It was
one of the saddest moments of my life — the Confederacy, of
whose success I had never lost hope, no longer in existence;
leaving my native land, as I then thought never more to return.

I felt that all the ties that I had formed during my childhood
and youth were become mere memories ; that all the fast friends
I had made during our hitter fight were to he only as some
much-heloved hero of a favorite novel, with whom we become

Blockade Running

435

very familiar until the tale is all told, and who then passes out
of mind and is never heard of more. But it was ordained other-
wise, and I am happy now to he in my old home, meeting every-
where men whose sympathies in that grand struggle were the
same as my own, and who feel as I do, that though our fighting
days are over, the memory of our dead comrades is strong
enough to hind us to each other until we all shall he called away
to join them in the land of eternal peace/7

Thomas E. Taylor.

Several large and important shipping firms in Liverpool were
interested in blockade running at Wilmington, and each of
these houses owned and operated from five to ten of the most
successful boats.

A young gentleman, Thomas E. Taylor, scarcely twenty-one
years of age, was sent out from England to represent a firm
which ultimately designed and ran some of the finest ships
engaged in this perilous, though profitable, business ; hut it may
be doubted if the company with whom he was associated or any
other owners realized, in the end, large profits on their ventures,
because, while the returns were very large under favorable con-
ditions, the frequent losses by capture and the final fall of the
Confederacy, which left them with ships unsalable for ordinary
trade, so reduced their earnings that the game was scarcely
worth the candle.

In 1896 Mr. Taylor published a most readable book entitled
Running the Blockade , in which he tells most graphically some
of his extraordinary experiences. He was much liked by all
who were fortunate enough to know him, and I well remember
his genial, happy spirits and his masterful leadership into
danger when duty called him in the interest of his employers.
I quote from his narrative an exciting incident which made a
sensation in blockade-running circles at the time :

“The reason for my leaving the Banshee was the arrival at
Nassau of a new steamer, which my firm had sent out to me.
This was the Will-o'-the-Wisp , and great things were expected
from her. She was built on the Clyde and was a much larger
and faster boat than the Banshee , but shamefully put together
and most fragile. My first introduction to her was seeing her
appear off Nassau, and receiving a message by the pilot-boat
from Capper, the captain, to say that the vessel was leaking

436

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

badly and be dare not stop bis engines, as they bad to be kept
going in order to work the pumps. We brought her into the
harbor, and having beached her and afterwards made all neces-
sary repairs on the slipway, I decided to take a trip in her.

“As soon as the nights were sufficiently dark we made a start
for Wilmington, unfortunately meeting very had weather and
strong head winds, which delayed us ; the result was that instead
of making out the blockading fleet about midnight, as we had
intended, when dawn was breaking there were still no signs of
them. Capper, the chief engineer, and I then held a hurried
consultation as to what we had better do. Capper was for going
to sea again, and if necessary returning to Nassau; the weather
was still threatening, our coal supply running short, and, with
a leaky ship beneath us, the engineer and I decided that the
lesser risk would be to make a dash for it. ‘All right/ said
Capper, ‘We’ll go on, but you’ll get d — d well peppered !’

“We steamed cautiously on, making as little smoke as possi-
ble, whilst I went to the masthead to take a look around ; no land
was in sight, but I could make out in the dull morning light the
heavy spars of the blockading flagship right ahead of us, and
soon after several other masts became visible on each side of her.
Picking out what appeared to me to be the widest space between
these, I signaled to the deck how to steer, and we went steadily
on, determined when we found we were perceived to make a
rush for it. No doubt our very audacity helped us through, as
for some time they took no notice, evidently thinking we were
one of their own chasers returning from sea to take up her
station for the day.

“At last, to my great relief, I saw Port Fisher just appearing
above the horizon, although we knew that the perilous passage
between these blockaders must be made before we could come
under the friendly protection of its guns. Suddenly we became
aware that our enemy had found us out; we saw two cruisers
steaming towards one another from either side of us, so as to
intercept us at a given point before we could get on the land side
of them. It now became simply a question of speed and im-
munity from being sunk by shot. Our little vessel quivered
under the tremendous pressure with which she was being driven
through the water.

“An exciting time followed, as we and our two enemies
rapidly converged upon one point, other ships in the distance
also hurrying up to assist them. We were now near enough to

Blockade Running

437

be within range, and the cruiser on our port side opened fire;
his first shot carried away our flagstaff aft, on which our ensign
had just been hoisted; his second tore through our forehold,
bulging out a plate on the opposite side. Bedding and blankets
to stop the leak were at once requisitioned, and we steamed on,
full speed, under a heavy fire from both quarters. Suddenly,
puffs of smoke from the fort showed us that Colonel Lamb, the
commandant, was aware of what was going on and was firing to
protect us ; a welcome proof that we were drawing within range
of his guns and on the landside of our pursuers, who, after
giving us a few more parting shots, hauled off and steamed
away from within reach of the shells, which we were rejoiced
to see falling thickly around them.

“We had passed through a most thrilling experience; at one
time the cruiser on our port side was only a hundred yards away
from us, with her consort a hundred and fifty on the starboard,
and it seemed a miracle that their double fire did not completely
sink us. It certainly required all one’s nerve to stand upon the
paddle-box, looking without flinching almost into the muzzles of
the guns which were being fired at us ; and proud we were of our
crew, not a man of whom showed the white feather. Our pilot,
who showed no lack of courage at the time, became, however,
terribly excited as we neared the bar, and, whether it was that
the ship steered badly, owing to being submerged forward, or
from some mistake, he ran her ashore whilst going at full speed.
The result was a most frightful shaking, which of course mate-
rially increased the leaks, and we feared the ship would become
a total wreck; fortunately, the tide was rising, and, through
lightening her by throwing some of the cargo overboard, we
succeeded in getting her off and steamed up the river to Wil-
mington, where we placed her on the mud.

“After repairing the shot holes and other damage, we were
under the impression that no further harm from running ashore
had come to her, as all leaks were apparently stopped and the
ship was quite tight. The result proved us to be sadly wrong on
this point. After loading our usual cargo we started down the
river all right, and waited for nightfall in order to cross the
bar and run through the fleet. No sooner had we crossed it and
found ourselves surrounded by cruisers, than the chief engineer
rushed on the bridge, saying the water was already over the
stoke-hole plates, and he feared that the ship was sinking. At
the same moment a quantity of firewood which was stowed

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

around one of the funnels (and which was intended to eke out
our somewhat scanty coal supply) caught fire, and flames hurst
out.

“This placed us in a pretty predicament, as it showed our
whereabouts to the two cruisers which were following us, one on
each quarter. They at once opened a furious cannonade upon
us; however, although shells were bursting all around and shot
flying over us, all hands worked with a will, and we soon extin-
guished the flames, which were acting as a treacherous beacon
to our foes. Fortunately, the night was intensely dark and
nothing could he seen beyond a radius of thirty or forty yards,
so, thanks to this, we were soon enabled, by altering our helm,
to give our pursuers the slip, whilst they probably kept on their
course.

“We had still the other enemy to deal with; hut our chief
engineer and his staff had meanwhile been hard at work and
had turned on the ‘bilge-injection7 and ‘donkey-pumps.7 Still,
the leak was gaining upon us, and it became evident that the
severe shaking which the ship got when run aground had started
the plates in her bottom. The mud had been sucked up when
she lay in the river at Wilmington, thus temporarily repairing
the damage ; but when she got into the seaway the action of the
water opened them' again. Even the steam pumps now could
not prevent the water from gradually increasing; four of our
eight furnaces were extinguished, and the firemen were working
up to their middles in water.

“It was a critical time when daylight broke, dull and threaten-
ing. The captain was at the wheel and I at the masthead (all
other hands being employed at the pumps, and even haling),
when, not four miles off, I sighted a cruiser broadside on. She
turned around as if preparing to give chase, and I thought we
were done for, as we could not have got more than three or four
knots an hour out of our crippled boat. To my great joy, how-
ever, I found our alarm was needless, for she evidently had not
seen us, and, instead of heading, turned her stern towards us
and disappeared into a thick hank of clouds.

“Still we were far from being out of danger, as the weather
became worse and worse and the wind increased in force until
it was blowing almost a gale. Things began to look as ugly as
they could, and even Capper lost hope. I shall never forget the
expression on his face as he came up to me and said, in his
gruff voice, ‘I say, Mr. Taylor, the beggar’s going, the beggar’s

Blockade Running

439

going/ pointing vehemently downwards. ‘What the devil do
you mean P I exclaimed. ‘Why, we are going to lose the ship
and our lives, too/ was the answer. It is not possible for any
one unacquainted with Capper to appreciate this scene. Sturdy,
thickset, nearly as broad as he was long, and with the gruffest
manner but kindest heart — a rough diamond, and absolutely
without fear. With the exception of Steele, he was the best
blockade-running captain we had.

“In order to save the steamer and our lives we decided that
desperate remedies must he resorted to, so again the unlucky
deck cargo had to be sacrificed. The good effect of this was
soon visible ; we began to gain on the water, and were able, by
degrees, to relight our extinguished fires. But the struggle con-
tinued to be a most severe one, for just when we began to obtain
a mastery over the water the donkey-engine broke down, and
before we could repair it the water increased sensibly, nearly
putting out our fires again. So the struggle went on for sixty
hours, when we were truly thankful to steam into Nassau Har-
bor and beach the ship. It was a very narrow escape, for within
twenty minutes after stopping her engines the vessel had sunk
to the level of the water.

“After this I made a trip in a new boat that had just been
sent out to me, the Wild Day veil. And a beauty she was, very
strong, a perfect sea-boat, and remarkably well engined.

“Our voyage in was somewhat exciting, as about three o’clock
in the afternoon, while making for the Tort Caswell entrance
(not Fort Fisher), we were sighted by a Federal cruiser, which
immediately gave chase. We soon found, however, that we had
the heels of our friend, but it left us the alternative of going out
to sea or being chased straight into the jaws of the blockaders
off the bar before darkness came on. Under these circumstances
what course to take was a delicate point to decide, hut we solved
the problem by slowing down just sufficiently to keep a few
miles ahead of our chaser, hoping that darkness would come on
before we made the fleet or they discovered us. Just as twilight
was drawing in we made them out ; cautiously we crept on, feel-
ing certain that our friend astern was rapidly closing up on us.
Every moment we expected to hear the shot whistling around
us. So plainly could we see the sleepy blockaders that it seemed
almost impossible we should escape their notice. Whether they
did not expect a runner to make an attempt so early in the
evening, or whether it was sheer good luck on our part, I know

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not, but we ran through the lot without being seen or without
having a shot fired at us.

“Our anxieties, however, were not yet over, as our pilot (a
new hand) lost his reckoning and put us ashore on the bar.
Fortunately, the flood tide was rising fast, and we refloated,
bumping over stern first in a most inglorious fashion, and
anchored off Fort Caswell before 7 p. m. — a record performance.

“Soon after anchoring and while enjoying the usual cocktail,
we saw a great commotion among the blockaders, who were
throwing up rockets and flashing lights, evidently in answer to
signals from the cruiser which had so nearly chased us into
their midst.

“When we came out we met with equally good luck, as the
night was pitch dark and the weather very squally. No sooner
did we clear the bar than we put our helm aport, ran down the
coast, and then stood boldly straight out to sea without inter-
ference; and it was perhaps as well we had such good fortune,
as before this I had discovered that our pilot was of a very
indifferent calibre, and that courage was not our captain’s most
prominent characteristic. The poor Wild Dayrell deserved a
better commander, and consequently a better fate than befell
her. She was lost on her second trip, entirely through the want
of pluck on the payt of her captain, who ran her ashore some
miles to the north of Fort Fisher; he said in order to avoid
capture — to my mind a fatal excuse for any blockade-running
captain to make. ’Twere far better to be sunk by shot, and
escape in the boats if possible. I am quite certain that if Steele
had commanded her on that trip she would never have been put
ashore, and the chances were that she would have come through
all right.

“I never forgave myself for not unshipping the captain on
my return to Nassau; my only excuse was that there was no
good man available to replace him, and he was a particular
protege of my chief. But such considerations should not have
weighed, and if I had had the courage of my convictions it is
probable the Wild Dayrell would have proved as successful as
any of our steamers.

“About this time I had two other new boats sent out, the
Stormy Petrel and the Wild Rover , both good boats, very fast,
and distinct improvements on the Banshee No. 1 and the Will-
o’-the-Wisp. The Stormy Petrel had, however, very bad luck,
as, after getting safely in and anchoring behind Fort Fisher,

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441

she settled, as the tide went down, on a submerged anchor, the
fluke of which went through her bottom, and despite all efforts
she became a total wreck ; this was one of the most serious and
unlucky losses I had. The Wild Rover was more successful, as
she made five round trips, on one of which I went in her. She
survived the war, and I eventually sent her to South America,
where she was sold for a good sum.

“We had in the early part of the war a depot at Bermuda
as well as at Nassau, and Frank Hurst was at that time my
brother agent there. I went there twice, once in the first Ban-
shee, and once from Halifax, after a trip to Canada in order
to recruit from a bad attack of yellow fever; hut I never liked
Bermuda, and later on we transferred Hurst and his agency to
Nassau, which was more convenient in many ways and nearer
Wilmington. Moreover, I had to face the contingency, which
afterwards occurred, of the Atlantic ports being closed and our
being driven to the Gulf. The Bermudians, however, were a
kind, hospitable lot and made a great deal of us, and there was
a much larger naval and military society stationed there than
in Nassau. They had suffered from a severe outbreak of yellow
fever, and the Third Buffs, who were in garrison at the time,
had been almost decimated by it.

“It was on my second trip to the island that one of the finest
boats we ever possessed, the Night Hawk , came out, and I con-
cluded to run in with her. She was a new side-wheel steamer
of some 600 tons gross, rigged as a fore-and-aft schooner, with
two funnels, 220 feet long, 21% feet beam, and 11 feet in
depth ; a capital boat for the work, fast, strong, of light draught,
and a splendid sea-boat — a great merit in a blockade runner that
sometimes has to he forced in all weathers. The Night Hawk's
career was a very eventful one, and she passed an unusually
lively night off Fort Fisher on her first attempt at blockade
running.

“Soon after getting under way our trouble began. We ran
ashore outside Hamilton, one of the harbors of Bermuda, and
hung on a coral reef for a couple of hours. There loomed before
us the dismal prospect of delay for repairs, or, still worse, the
chance of springing a leak and experiencing such difficulties and
dangers as we had undergone on the Will-o'-the-Wisp , but for-
tunately we came off without damage and were able to proceed
on our voyage.

“Another anxiety now engrossed my mind: the captain was

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an entirely new hand and nearly all the crew were green at the
work; moreover, the Wilmington pilot was quite unknown to
me, and I could see from the outset that he was very nervous
and wanting in confidence. What would I not have given for
our trusty pilot, Tom Burruss ! However, we had to make the
best of it, as, owing to the demand, the supply of competent
pilots was not nearly sufficient, and towards the close of the
blockade the so-called pilots were no more than boatmen or men
who had been trading in and out of Wilmington or Charleston
in coasters. Notwithstanding my fears, all went well on the
way across, and the Night Hawk proved to be everything that
could be desired in speed and seaworthiness.

“We had sighted unusually few craft, and nothing eventful
occurred until the third night. Soon after midnight we found
ourselves uncomfortably near a large vessel. It was evident that
we had been seen, as we heard them heating to quarters, and we
were hailed. We promptly sheered off and went full speed
ahead, greeted by a broadside which went across our stern.

“When we arrived within striking distance of Wilmington
Bar, the pilot was anxious to go in by Smith’s Inlet, but as he
acknowledged that he knew very little about it, I concluded it
was better to keep to the New Inlet passage, where, at all events,
we should have the advantage of our good friend Lamb to pro-
tect us ; and I felt fhat as I myself knew the place so well, this
was the safest course to pursue. We were comparatively well
through the fleet, although heavily fired at, and arrived near to
the bar, passing close by two Northern launches, which were
lying almost upon it. Unfortunately, it was dead low water,
and although I pressed our pilot to give our boat a turn around,
keeping under way, and to wait a while until the tide made, he
was so demoralized by the firing we had gone through and the
nearness of the launches, which were constantly throwing up
rockets, that he insisted upon putting her at the bar and, as I
feared, we grounded on it forward, and with the strong flood
tide quickly hroached-to, broadside on to the northern breakers.
We kept our engines going for some time, hut to no purpose, as
we found we were only being forced by the tide more on to the
breakers. Therefore, we stopped, and all at once found our
friends, the two launches, close aboard ; they had discovered we
were ashore, and had made up their minds to attack us.

“At once all was in confusion ; the pilot and signalman rushed
to the dinghy, lowered it, and made good their escape; the

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443

captain lost his head and disappeared; and the crews of the
launches, after firing several volleys, one of which slightly
wounded me, rowed in to hoard us on each sponson. Just at
this moment, I suddenly recollected that our private dispatches,
which ought to have been thrown overboard, were still in the
starboard lifeboat. I rushed to it, hut found the lanyard to
which the sinking weight was attached was foul of one of the
thwarts ; I tugged and tugged, but to no purpose, so I sung out
for a knife, which was handed to me by a fireman, and I cut the
line and pitched it overboard as the Northerners jumped on
hoard. Eighteen months afterwards that fireman accosted me
in the Liverpool streets, saying, ‘Mr. Taylor, do you remember
my lending you a knife?’ ‘Of course I do,’ I replied, giving
him a tip, at which he was mightily pleased. Poor fellow! he
had been thirteen months in a Northern prison.

“When the Northerners jumped on hoard they were terribly
excited. I don’t know whether they expected resistance or not,
but they acted more like maniacs than sane men, firing their
revolvers and cutting right and left with their cutlasses. I
stood in front of the men on the poop and said that we surren-
dered, hut all the reply I received from the lieutenant command-
ing was, ‘Oh, you surrender, do you ? * * * ’ accompanied

by a string of the choicest Yankee oaths and sundry reflections
upon my parentage ; whereupon he fired his revolver twice point-
blank at me not two yards distant. It was a miracle he did not
kill me, as I heard the bullets whiz past my head. This aroused
my wrath, and I expostulated in the strongest terms upon his
firing upon unarmed men. He then cooled down, giving me
into the charge of two of his men, one of whom speedily pos-
sessed himself of my binoculars. Fortunately, as I had no
guard to my watch, they didn’t discover it, and I have it still.

“Finding they could not get the ship off, and afraid, I pre-
sume, of Lamb and his men coming to our rescue, the Federals
commenced putting the captain (who had been discovered be-
hind a boat ! ) and the crew into the boats ; they then set the ship
on fire fore and aft, and she soon began to blaze merrily. At
this moment one of our firemen, an Irishmen, sang out, ‘Be-
gorra, we shall all be in the air in a minute, the ship is full of
gunpowder !’ No sooner did the Northern sailors hear this than
a panic seized them, and they rushed to their boats, threatening
to leave their officers behind if they did not come along. The
men who were holding me dropped me like a hot potato, and to

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my great delight jumped into their boat, and away they rowed
as fast as they could, taking all our crew, with exception of the
second officer, one of the engineers, four seamen, and myself,
as prisoners.

“We chuckled at our lucky escape, hut we were not out of the
woods yet, as we had only a boat half stove in with which to
reach the shore through some 300 yards of surf, and we were
afraid at any moment that our enemies, finding there was no
gunpowder on board, might return. We made a feeble effort
to put the fire out, hut it had gained too much headway, and
although I offered the men with me £50 apiece to stand by me
and persevere, they were too demoralized and began to lower the
shattered boat, swearing that they would leave me behind if I
didn’t come with them. There was nothing for it hut to go, yet
the passage through the boiling surf seemed more dangerous to
my mind than remaining on the burning ship. The hlockaders
immediately opened fire when they knew their own men had left
the Night Hawk , and that she was burning; and Lamb’s great
shells hurtling over our heads and those from the blockading
fleet bursting all around us formed a weird picture. In spite of
the hail of shot and shell and the danger of the boiling surf, we
reached the shore in safety, wet through, and glad I was in my
state of exhaustion from fatigue and loss of blood to he wel-
comed by Lamb’s orderly officer.

“The poor Night Hawk was now a sheet of flame, and I
thought it was all up with her ; and indeed it would have been
had it not been for Lamb, who, calling for volunteers from his
garrison, sent out two or three boatloads of men to her, and
when I came down to the beach, after having my wound dressed
and after a short rest, I was delighted to find the fire had sensi-
bly decreased. I went on hoard, and after some hours of hard
work the fire was extinguished. But what a wreck she was !

“Luckily, with the rising tide she had humped over the hank,
and was now lying on the main beach much more accessible and
sheltered. Still, it seemed an almost hopeless task to save her ;
but we were not going to be beaten without a try, so, after hav-
ing ascertained how she lay and the condition she was in, I
resolved to make an attempt to get her dry, and telegraphed to
Wilmington for assistance.

“Our agent sent me down about 300 negroes to assist in
hailing and pumping, and I set them to work at once. As good
luck would have it, my finest steamer, Banshee No. 2, which had

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445

just been sent out, ran in tbe next night. She was a great im-
provement on the first Banshee , having a sea speed of 15%
knots, which was considered very fast in those days ; her length
was 252 feet, beam 31 feet, depth 11 feet, her registered ton-
nage 439 tons, and her crew consisted of fifty-three men in all.
I at once requisitioned her for aid in the shape of engineers
and men, so that now I had everything I could want in the
way of hands. Our great difficulty was that the Night Hawk's
anchors would not hold for us to get a fair haul at her.

“But here again I was to be in luck. Bor the very next night
the Condor , commanded by poor Hewitt, in attempting to run
in stuck fast upon the bank over which we had bumped, not
one hundred yards to windward of us, and broke in two. It
is an ill wind that blows nobody good, and Hewitt’s mischance
proved the saving of our ship. How we had a hold for our
chain cables by making them fast to the wreck, and were able
gradually to haul her off by them a little during each tide, until
on the seventh day we had her afloat in a gut between the bank
and the shore, and at high water we steamed under our own
steam gaily up the river to Wilmington.

“Considering the appliances we had and the circumstances
under which we were working, the saving of that steamer was
certainly a wonderful performance, as we were under fire
almost the whole time. The northerners, irritated, no doubt,
by their failure to destroy the ship, used to shell us by day and
send in boats by night ; Lamb, however, put a stop to the latter
annoyance by lending us a couple of companies to defend us,
and one night when our enemies rowed close up with the inten-
tion of boarding us, they were glad to sheer off with the loss of
a lieutenant and several men. In spite of all the shot and shell
by day and the repeated attacks at night, we triumphed in the
end, and, after having the Night Hawk repaired at heavy cost
and getting together a crew, I gave May, a friend of mine, com-
mand of her, and he ran out successfully with a valuable cargo
which made her pay, notwithstanding all her bad luck and the
amount spent upon her. Poor May! he was afterwards gover-
nor of Perth gaol, and is dead now — a high-toned, sensitive
gentleman, mighty proud of his ship, lame duck as she was.

“When she was burning, our utmost efforts were of course
directed towards keeping her engine-room and boilers amidships
intact, and confining the flames to both ends; in this we were
successful, mainly owing to the fact of her having bunkers

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a th wart-ship ; but as regards the rest of the steamer she was a
complete wreck; her sides were all corrugated with the heat,
and her stern so twisted that her starboard quarter was some
two feet higher than her port quarter, and not a particle of
woodwork was left unconsumed. Owing to the limited resources
of Wilmington as regards repairs, I found it impossible to have
all of this put right, so her sides were left as they were, and
the new deck put on with the slope I have described, and
caulked with cotton, as no oakum was procurable. When com-
pleted she certainly was a queer-looking craft, but as tight as
a bottle, and as seaworthy as ever, although I doubt if any
Lloyd’s surveyor would have passed her. But as a matter of
fact she came across the Atlantic, deeply immersed with her
coal supply, through some very had weather, without damage,
and was sold for a mere song, to he repaired and made into a
passenger boat for service on the East Coast, where she ran
for many years with success.

“It had been a hard week for me, as I had no clothes except
what I had on when we were boarded — my servant very cleverly,
as he imagined, having thrown my portmanteau into the man-
of-war’s boat when he thought I was going to he captured — and
all I had in the world was the old serge suit in which I stood.
Being without a change and wet through every day and night
for six days consecutively, it is little wonder that I caught fever
and ague, of which I nearly died in Richmond, and which dis-
tressing complaint stuck to me for more than eighteen months.
I shall never forget, on going to a store in Wilmington for a
new rig-out (which, by the way, cost $1,200), the look of
horror on the storekeeper’s face when I told him the coat I had
purchased would do if he cut a foot off it; he thought it such
a waste of expensive material.

“The Tristram Shandy had a very short and unfortunate
career ; after being reloaded subsequent to a compulsory return,
she started on her second attempt and steamed safely in. But
in coming out, her funnels, owing to the peculiar construction of
her boilers, flamed very much, and it appears that a gunboat
followed her by this flame all night, and when morning broke
was seen to be about three miles astern. The captain at once
ordered extra steam to he put on, but owing to this having been
done too suddenly, one of her valve spindles was wrenched off,
and she lay helpless at the mercy of the chaser, who speedily
came up and took possession.

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447

“She had on board a very valuable cargo of cotton, and in
addition $50,000 in specie belonging to the Confederate Gov-
ernment; this, according to agreement with the government,
Doering, the purser, proceeded to throw overboard, but some
of the crew, determined to have a finger in the spoil, rushed aft
and broke open the kegs. In the melee a quantity of gold pieces
were strewn among the cotton bales on deck, and when the
Northerners came on board they were very irate to think they
had lost a considerable portion of their prize money. The
steamer was taken into Philadelphia and condemned, and the
crew were kept prisoners in Hew York for several months.

“In addition to the worries and anxieties I have detailed, we
had to fight that demon, Yellow Jack, which raged with fear-
ful mortality both at Nassau and Wilmington. In Nassau I
have counted seventeen funerals pass my house before break-
fast, and in one day I have attended interments of three inti-
mate friends. In Wilmington it was worse ; in one season alone,
out of a total population of 3,000 remaining in the city, 446
died. No wonder the authorities were scared and imposed
heavy penalties on us in the shape of quarantine. On two
occasions I have been in quarantine for fifty days at a time.
Think of that, you modern luxurious travelers, who growl if
you are detained three days !

“On the first occasion, out of a crew of thirty-two, twenty-
eight were laid low, and we had seven deaths ; only the captain,
chief engineer, steward, and myself were free from fever. On
the second, we had no sickness, and only suffered from the ennui
consequent upon such close confinement and short rations, as
latterly we had nothing but salt pork and sardines to eat. We
were saved from a third dose of quarantine by almost a miracle.

“It happened that the Southern agent in Egypt had sent a
very valuable Arabian horse to Nassau, as a present for Presi-
dent Jefferson Davis. Heiliger, the Confederate agent there,
asked me if I would take it through the blockade. I at once
consented, and it was shipped on hoard the Banshee. We got
through all right, hut when the health officer came on board
and ordered us to quarantine, I said : ‘If we have to go there,

the horse will certainly have to he destroyed, as we have no
food for it.’ Thereupon he telegraphed to Richmond, and the
reply came hack that the Banshee was to proceed to the town,
land the horse, and return to quarantine. When we were along-
side the wharf, a large number of our crew jumped on shore

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and disappeared. I said to the general, who was a friend of
mine, ‘There is no use of our going hack to quarantine after
this, you either have the infection or not,’ and I induced him
to telegraph to Richmond again. The answer came hack,
* Banshee must discharge and load as quickly as possible, and
proceed to sea; lend all assistance.’

“The general acted on these instructions, and upon the third
day we were gaily proceeding down the river again with an
outward cargo on hoard, passing quite a fleet of steamers at the
quarantine ground, whose crews were gnashing their teeth. We
got safely out and returned, after making another trip, to find
the same boats in quarantine, and, as it was raised three days
after our arrival, we steamed up the river in company, much
to the disgust of their crews.

“Good old horse ! he saved me from a dreary confinement in
quarantine, and made the owners of the Banshee $100,000 to
$150,000 extra, hut he was nearly the cause of our all being
put in a Northern prison and losing our steamer. On a very
still night, as we were running in and creeping noiselessly
through the hostile fleet, he commenced neighing (smelling the
land, I suppose). In an instant two or three jackets were
thrown over his head, hut it was too late; he had been heard
on hoard a cruiser very close to which we were passing, and she
and two or three of her consorts immediately opened fire upon
us. We had the heels of them, however, and our friend, Colonel
Lamb, at Tort Fisher, was soon protecting us, playing over our
heads with shell.

“On a subsequent occasion, disaster might have overtaken the
Banshee under somewhat similar circumstances had a cruiser
happened to he near. A game cock which we kept on hoard as
a pet suddenly began to crow. But this time the disaster was
to the game cock and not to the Banshee , for, pet as he was, his
neck was promptly twisted. Such experiences as these show
how easy it was to increase the risks of blockade running; ab-
sence of all avoidable noise at night was as essential as the
extinction of all lights on hoard ship.”

Upon this remarkable incident so graphically described by
Mr. Taylor, there hangs a local story which proves the ready
wit of the children of Israel under all circumstances.

A day or two after the landing of the Arabian horse, which
was the most docile, most beautiful animal ever seen in Wil-

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449

mington, a well-known dry-goods merchant, who had prospered
on Confederate contracts, and who had often tried unsuccess-
fully to obtain General Whiting’s permission to visit Nassau,
sauntered into Mr. John Dawson’s store near the foot of Mar-
ket Street, and obtained permission to search the loft above the
store for anything worth while which might be put to good use
during the stress of war and famine. He found nothing but
a soiled and greasy horse blanket which had been used upon
Mr. Dawson’s well-known race horse, and afterwards thrown
aside when he parted with him a year or so before. It was
originally of fine blue padded silk, with Mr. Dawson’s mono-
gram, “J. D.,” in large letters tastefully embroidered on it.
Our friend having been assured by Mayor Dawson that he was
quite welcome to the blanket, proceeded with the assistance of
his accomplished wife to renovate and repair it until, under
their skillful manipulation, it was made almost as good as new.
Having obtained through a friend a letter of introduction to
Mrs. Jefferson Davis, he proceeded to Richmond and was
ushered into the presence of that distinguished lady. With his
most engaging smiles he said he was about to depart on a visit
to Nassau and that he hoped he might be favored with an order
from Mrs. Davis for any articles of personal or household use
which were then unobtainable in the Confederacy. What appeal
to the feminine heart could be more potent! While she gra-
ciously responded to this attractive proposal, the President him-
self entered the room, to whom, in another courteous speech,
the Wilmington merchant presented, with complimentary allu-
sions to the Arabian horse, a beautiful silk blanket bearing the
President’s monogram, “J. D.,” which was as graciously ac-
cepted in token of our friend’s personal loyalty and devotion.
The subsequent details included a pass to Nassau signed by
the highest authority in the Confederacy, which was brought
back to Wilmington in triumph, and a few days afterwards a
favored son of the Scattered Nation was a very seasick man
on a voyage to Nassau through the Cape Pear blockade.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

RESCUE OF MADAME DeROSSET.

In the summer of 1864, while the Lilian was undergoing
repairs, we found at the shipyard in Wilmington the noted
blockade runner Lynx , commanded by one of the most daring
spirits in the service, Captain Reed. This officer has been de-
scribed in a Northern magazine as a pirate, but he was one of
the mildest mannered of gentlemen, a capital seaman, and ap-
parently entirely devoid of fear. He had previously commanded
the Gibraltar , formerly the first Confederate cruiser Sumter ;
and he brought through the blockade in this ship to Wilmington
the two enormous guns which attracted so much attention at that
time. One of them exploded, through a fault in loading; the
other was used for the defense of Charleston, and rendered
effective service.

A thrilling incident occurred in the destruction of the Lynx,
a few weeks after we left her at Wilmington, which nearly
terminated the life of a brave and charming lady, the wife of
Mr. Louis H. DeRosset, and of her infant child, who were
passengers for Nassau. At half past seven o’clock on the even-
ing of September 26, 1864, the Lynx attempted to run the
blockade at New Inlet, but was immediately discovered in the
Swash Channel by the Federal cruiser Niphon, which fired
several broadsides into her at short range, nearly every shot
striking her hull and seriously disabling her. Notwithstanding
this, Captain Reed continued his efforts to escape, and for a
short time was slipping away from his pursuers; but he was
again intercepted by two Federal men-of-war, the Hoivquah ,
and the Governor Buckingham.

Mrs. DeRosset, describing the scene a few days afterwards,
said : “Immediately the sky was illuminated with rockets, and

broadside upon broadside, volley upon volley, was poured upon
us. The captain put me in the wheelhouse for safety. I had
scarcely taken my seat when a ball passed three inches above
my head, wounding the man at the wheel next to me; a large
piece of the wheelhouse knocked me violently on the head. I
flew to the cabin and took my baby in my arms, and immediately
another ball passed through the cabin. We came so near one
of the enemy’s boats that they fired a round of musketry and
demanded surrender. We passed them like lightning; then our

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451

vessel commenced sinking ! Eight shots went through and
through below the water line. I stayed in the cabin until I
could no longer keep the baby out of the water.”

The Howquah then engaged the Lynx at close quarters, and
her batteries tore away a large part of the paddle-boxes and
bridge deck. The Buckingham also attacked the plucky block-
ade runner at so short range that her commander fired all the
charges from his revolver at Captain Reed and his pilot on the
bridge. The continual flashing of the guns brightly illuminated
the chase and, escape being impossible, Captain Reed, much
concerned for the safety of his passengers, headed his sinking
ship for the beach. In the meantime Fort Fisher was firing
upon his pursuers with deadly effect, killing and wounding
five men on the Howquah and disabling one of the guns. The
sea was very rough that night, and the treacherous breakers
with their deafening roar afforded little hope of landing a
woman and a baby through the surf; nevertheless, it was the
only alternative, and right bravely did the heroine meet it.
Through the breakers the Lynx was driven to her destruction,
the shock, as her keel struck the bottom, sending her crew head-
long on the deck. Boats were lowered with great difficulty, the
sea dashing over the bulwarks and drenching the sailors to the
point of strangulation. Madame DeRosset, with the utmost
coolness, watched her chance, while the boat lurched and
pounded against the stranded ship, and jumped to her place;
the baby, wrapped in a blanket, was tossed from the deck to her
mother ten feet below, and then the fight for a landing began;
while the whole crew, forgetful of their own danger, and in-
spired with courage by the brave lady’s example, joined in
three hearty cheers as she disappeared in the darkness towards
the shore. Under the later glare of the burning ship, which
was set on fire when abandoned, a safe landing was effected, hut
with great suffering. Soaking wet, without food or drink, they
remained on the beach until a message could reach Colonel
Lamb at Fort Fisher, five miles distant, whence an ambulance
was sent to carry the passengers twenty miles up to Wilming-
ton. The baby blockade runner, Gabrielle, survived this peril-
ous adventure, and also an exciting run through the fleet in
the Confederate steamer Owl. She is now the widow of the
late Col. Alfred Moore Waddell, formerly mayor of Wil-
mington.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

IMPROVED SHIPS AND NOTABLE COMMANDERS.

The last year of the war evolved a superior type of blockade
runner of great speed, many of which were commanded by
celebrated men of nerve and experience. Of these may he
mentioned at random and from memory : the Lilian , Captain
Maffitt ; the Little Hattie , Captain Libby ; the Florie, named for
Captain Maffitt’s daughter; the Agnes E. Fry, commanded by
that noble but unfortunate naval officer, Capt. Joseph Ery;
the Chicora, still running in Canadian waters ; the Let Her Rip ;
the Let Her Be; also the fleet of three-funnel boats, one of
which, the Condor, was commanded by the famous Admiral
Hewitt, of the British Navy, who won the Victoria Cross in
the Crimea, and who was knighted by Queen Victoria for his
distinguished services as special envoy to King John of Abys-
sinia. The Falcon , another, was commanded for one voyage by
Hobart Pasha ; the Flamingo, the Ptarmigan, and the Vulture,
were also of the three-funnel type.

Another notable British officer who ran the blockade was the
gallant Burgoyne, who was lost in the iron-clad Captain in the
Bay of Biscay, which vessel he commanded on that unfortunate
voyage.

Captain Carter was a notable naval officer of the Confed-
eracy; he commanded the blockade runner Coquette.

Capt. Thomas Lockwood, a North Carolinian, was, per-
haps, the most noted of the commercial class. His last com-
mand was the celebrated steamer Colonel Lamb, named for the
defender of Port Fisher. This was the largest, the finest, and
the fastest of all the ships on either side during the war. She
was a paddle-steamer, built of steel, 281 feet long, 36 feet beam,
and 15 feet depth of hold. Her tonnage was 1,788 tons. At
the time she was built, 1864, she was the fastest vessel afloat,
having attained on her trial a speed of sixteen and three-fourth
knots, or about nineteen miles an hour. Captain Lockwood
made several successful runs in this fine ship, and escaped to
England at the close of the war. The Colonel Lamb was sold to
the Greek Government, and subseqently, under another name,
was blown up while in the Mersey loaded with war supplies.
Other fast boats were the Owl, Bat , Fox, Dream, Stag, Edith ,
Atalanta , Virginia, Charlotte, Banshee and Night Hawk.

Another merchant commander of distinction was Captain

Blockade Running

453

Halpin, who was very skillful and successful. He afterwards
commanded the famous leviathan, Great Eastern, while she was
engaged in laying the Atlantic cable.

It is a remarkable fact that, although speed was regarded
the first essential to success, some of the slowest vessels engaged
in the traffic were the most fortunate. The Pet , for example,
was a very slow steamer, yet she made the runs, over forty of
them, through the blockade with the regularity of a mail boat.
I think this was due to the superior skill of her commander,
who exercised great caution and never became excited in a tight
place. The Antonica was another slow, lumbering boat, but it
was said of her that when she was fairly set on her course be-
tween Nassau and Wilmington they could simply lash her wheel
and she would go in or out “by herself.” The Scotia , the Grey-
hound, and others were equally slow coaches, hut had for a time,
it seemed, a charmed life.

The loss of the Merrimac was, like that of the Bat, as related
by Pilot Craig, a notable example of cowardice on the part of
the captain. This fine, large steamer, which had successfully
run into Wilmington, was ordered to be sold in this port, and
she was bought by a number of prominent citizens and mer-
chants, one of whom was Mr. Edward Kidder. She was laden
with a very valuable cargo of cotton and tobacco and put to sea
for Nassau. On the second day out she was chased, as they
thought, by a cruiser which steadily gained on her, and when
the stranger fired a small gun, the captain of the Merrimac
ignominiously surrendered to an unarmed passenger steamer,
whose little popgun, containing a blank cartridge used for sig-
nals in those days, would not have harmed a fly. This incident
caused much merriment on board the passenger steamer, which
profited largely in the prize money.

THE NORTH CAROLINA BLOCKADE RUNNER
“ADVANCE.”

The following communication, prepared for me by the late
Col. James G. Burr, of Wilmington, will he read with interest:
“In the month of August, 1862, Zebulon B. Vance, then
colonel of a North Carolina regiment serving in the Army of
Northern Virginia, and quite a young man, was elected gover-
nor of the State by a large majority. He did not seek the

454 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

office. In fact, he objected to the use of his name, for the reason
that he preferred the position that he then held in the army,
and for the further reason that he thought he was too young to
he governor. The people, however, thought differently and he
was borne into office by a popular upheaval. With what energy
and vigor he discharged his duties, how true he was in every
way to his State and his people, are matters of history and
need not he referred to here. He was inaugurated the ensuing
September, and early in his administration he conceived the
idea of purchasing for the State a steamer to run the blockade
at Wilmington, bringing in supplies for our soldiers in the
field and for our suffering people at home.1

“Capt. Thomas U. Crossan, formerly of the United States
Havy, was accordingly sent to England with Mr. Hughes, of
Hew Bern, where, in conjunction with Mr. John White, the
agent of the State in England at the time, they purchased the
fine side-wheel steamer Lord Clyde , then running between Glas-
gow and Dublin, which name before her advent into Southern
waters was changed to that of Advance or Ad Vance , the latter
in compliment to the distinguished war governor, through whose
instructions and active influence the purchase had been made.

“In the spring of 1863 the Advance made her first successful
trip through the hlockaders and arrived safely in the harbor of
Wilmington, bringing a large amount of much-needed supplies.
The Governor was informed of her arrival and came to Wil-
mington immediately, and the next day, Sunday, went down on
one of the river steamers with a number of his friends to the
ship, which was lying at the quarantine station about fifteen or
sixteen miles below the city. After spending several hours on
hoard examining the ship and partaking of the hospitalities of
its officers, it was determined to take her up to the city without
waiting for a permit from the health officers, as it was assumed
the Governor’s presence on hoard would he a justification for
the violation of quarantine regulations. Accordingly, steam
was raised and she came up to the city and was made fast to
the wharf in front of the custom house. This was objected to
by Major Strong, aide-de-camp to General Whiting, as being in

iDuring the Revolution the State made heavy importations and had
vessels engaged in running the blockade; and early in 1861 that prece-
dent was again recommended, especially by Gen. J. G. Martin, the
adjutant general of the State, and ample funds were provided. When
Vance came in as governor the time was ripe for it, and he wisely
carried the plan into execution.

Blockade Running

455

violation of quarantine regulations, and lie ordered tire vessel
to return to her quarantine berth. But the chairman of the
Board of Commissioners of Navigation was sent for, and he
gave a permit for the vessel to remain where she was, and for
all persons who wished to land to do so.

“The Advance was a first-class ship in every respect and had
engines of great power and very highly finished, and her speed
was good. With a pressure of twenty pounds to the square inch
she easily averaged seventeen knots to the hour, and when it
was increased to thirty pounds she reeled off twenty knots with-
out difficulty. Her officers were Captain Crossan, commander;
Captain Wylie, a Scotchman, who came over with her, sailing
master ; Mr. Hughes, of New Bern, purser ; Capt. George Mor-
rison, chief engineer. The only objection to her was her size
and heavy draught of water, the latter rendering it difficult for
her to cross the shoals, which at that time were a great bar to
the navigation of the river, and in consequence of which she
could never go out or return with a full cargo of cotton or
supplies.

“She ran the blockade successfully seven or eight trips, bring-
ing in all kinds of supplies that were much needed by our
troops and people, thanks to the energy and wise foresight of
our patriotic war governor. The regularity of her trips was
remarkable and could be forecast almost to the very day; in-
deed, it was common to hear upon the streets the almost stere-
otyped remark, ‘Tomorrow the Advance will be in/ and when
the morrow came she could generally be seen gliding up to her
dock with the rich freight of goods and wares so greatly needed
by our people. In the meantime, however, she had several
narrow escapes from capture. Coming from Nassau on one
occasion, the weather being very stormy and a heavy fog pre-
vailing, she ran ashore opposite Tort Caswell and remained
there for two days. The sea was so rough that the blockaders
could not approach near enough to do her damage, and after
discharging part of her cargo she was relieved from her peril-
ous position and got safely into port. But the most exciting
trip was one made in the month of July, 1864, from Bermuda.
She had on board as passengers a number of prominent gentle-
men, among them Marshall Kane, of Baltimore, Rev. Dr. Moses
D. Hoge, of Richmond, Va., and others who had come down
from St. Johns, New Brunswick, and joined the ship at Ber-
muda, and who were extremely anxious to reach the Confed-

456

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

erate States. By some error in calculation, instead of making
Cape Fear Light at 3 a. m., as was intended, they made the
light on Cape Lookout, a long distance out of their course.
What was best to be done was the question to be solved, and to
be solved at once, for daylight comes very soon in July. The
ship had scarcely enough coal in her hunkers to take her back
to the port she had left and almost certain capture stared them
in the face should they attempt to run in. It was determined,
however, to make the attempt to get in. The ship was headed
for Hew Inlet and, hugging the shore as closely as possible,
with all steam on, she dashed down the coast with the speed
of a thoroughbred on a hotly contested race-course. Fortunately,
at that time many persons were engaged in making salt on the
coast, and the smoke rising from the works created a cloud, or
mist, which concealed the ship from the hlockaders, although
it was broad day ; but as she neared the inlet she was compelled
to change her course further out to sea on account of a shoal,
or spit, that makes out into the ocean at that point, and she was
immediately discovered by the blockading fleet, that opened fire
upon her and gave chase like a pack of hounds in eager pursuit
of a much coveted quarry. It was a most trying situation, for
the ship was compelled to keep her course, although it carried
her nearer and nearer to the enemy, until she could round the
shoal and run in towards the land, when she would be in com-
parative safety. Round shot and shell were flying around her in
every direction, hut she held steadily on, though rushing, as it
seemed, to certain destruction, when suddenly a roar was heard
from the fort — the heavy guns upon the mound had opened
upon the pursuers and with such effect as to check their speed ■
and force them to retire; and the gallant ship, which had been
so hard pressed, soon rounded the shoal and was safe beneath
the sheltering guns of the fort.

“But the pitcher that goes often to the fountain is broken at
last, and the time came when the career of the Advance , as a
blockade runner, was to cease forever. She was captured on
her outward trip a few miles from our coast, owing to an in-
ferior quality of coal she was compelled to use, which was very
bituminous and emitted a black smoke that betrayed her to the
watchful eyes of the fleet, and, being surrounded by them, she
was obliged to surrender with her cargo of cotton, her officers
and crew becoming prisoners. She was a noble ship, greatly
endeared to the people of our State, and her capture was felt
by all as a personal calamity.

Blockade Running

457

“In 1867 she made her reappearance in the waters of the
Cape Fear as the United States man-of-war Frolic , sent to this
port to prevent the Cuban warship Cuba from leaving Wilming-
ton, which duty was successfully performed. It happened on
that occasion that Capt. George Morrison, her former engineer,
met some of her officers and was asked by them her rate of
speed while he had charge of her engines. He replied, ‘Seven-
teen knots, easily.’ ‘Impossible,’ they said, ‘for we have not
been able to get more than eight or nine out of her.’ ‘Some-
thing wrong then,’ said the captain, ‘and, unless you have made
some alterations in her machinery, I will guarantee to drive
her to Smithville at a rate of seventeen knots an hour.’ He
was cordially invited on board to examine, did so, and found
that they had placed a damper where it ought not to he, which
prevented the generation of steam. He removed it, and then
ran down to Smithville at a rate of nineteen knots an hour, to
the great surprise of all on board.

“As Captain Morrison held such an important position on the
Advance and was so competent and reliable, it is thought that a
brief sketch of his early life will not be out of place in this
volume. He was born in Philadelphia, served four years in a
machine shop, and at the expiration of his service removed to
Baltimore, where he was appointed engineer on one of the
Chesapeake Bay boats ; subsequently he was chief engineer of a
steamer plying between Norfolk, Old Point Comfort, and the
eastern and western shores of the peninsular counties of Vir-
ginia. He came to Wilmington about 1840 and was appointed
assistant engineer on the steamer Gladiator , running between
Wilmington and Charleston. When the boat was sold, he be-
came a conductor on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, and
served with great acceptability for a number of years. He
made six trips on the Advance, but was not on board when she
was captured. Por more than fifty years he was a citizen of
Wilmington and enjoyed in his ripe old age, as in earlier years,
the general esteem of the community.

“Another engineer on the Advance was Capt. James Maglenn,
an Irishman, who on her last trip was chief engineer. After
her capture, the Advance was carried into New Bern, where
Captain Maglenn escaped and got to Baltimore. There some
friends aided him to escape to Canada. When he was on the
train he observed an officer and a guard come into the car, and
he was very apprehensive. But the officer engaged himself in

458

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ascertaining how the passengers would vote, and while many
voted for McClellan, Maglenn observed that the officer’s eyes
brightened when any one voted for Lincoln. When, therefore,
the officer stopped opposite to him and asked, looking at him
very intently, ‘Who do you vote for V in a voice loud enough to
be heard throughout the car, he answered, ‘I cast my vote for
President Lincoln.’ The officer slapped him on the shoulder,
and said, ‘You are the right sort, my friend.’ Several passen-
gers then came up and shook hands with him. Maglenn was
very happy when he had got well into Canada.

“After the war he was engineer on the Coast Line, master
mechanic of the Carolina Central, and superintendent of motive
power of the Seaboard. In all walks of life and in every asso-
ciation with his fellow-men he was honest, true, and faithful.
He lived many years in Raleigh, where he recently died.”

OTHER VESSELS EAMOHS IN BLOCKADE
RUNNING.

In the second stage of blockade running, when steam was at
a premium, a number of walking-beam boats of excellent speed,
which had plied regularly between Southern ports and which
had been laid up since the proclamation, were bought by South-
ern business men who became prominent in blockade running,
and, after the removal of passenger cabins and conspicuous top
hamper, were placed in this dangerous traffic. Of these may
be mentioned the steamer Kate , previously known as the Caro-
lina, upon the line between Charleston and Palatka; the Gor-
don, which was built to run between Charleston and Savannah ;
also the Nina , Seabroolc , Clinch , and Cecile, which had plied
on the same line. The Cecile , loaded at Nassau with a cargo
of powder, rifles, and stores for Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston’s
army at Shiloh, struck a sunken rock off the Florida coast
and went to the bottom in ten minutes. The officers and crew
escaped.

Two steamers which formerly ran between New Orleans and
Galveston became prominent as Cape Pear blockade runners;
the Atlantic , renamed the Elizabeth , and the Austin , which
became the famous Confederate steamer Ella and Annie. In
the early morning of November 9, 1863, the Ella and Annie ,
under command of Capt. E. N. Bonneau, of Charleston, was

Blockade Running

459

intercepted off New Inlet, near Masonboro, by tbe United States
steamer Niphon , which attempted to press her ashore. Several
other cruisers preventing the escape of the Ella and Annie,
Captain Bonneau at once resolved upon the desperate expedient
of running the Niphon down. He accordingly ran his ship at
reckless speed straight at the war vessel, and struck it with
great force, carrying away the bowsprit and stem and wounding
three of the men. The Niphon, by quick movement, avoided
the full effect of the blow, and fired all her starboard guns into
the Ella and Annie, wounding four of her men. As soon as the
vessels came together the Niphon carried the Ella and Annie,
by boarding, and made her a prize. She afterwards became
the United States flagship Malvern.

The Governor Dudley, of the Wilmington and Charleston
route before the completion of the Wilmington and Manchester
Railroad, which, prior to the war, had been put on the summer
run between Charleston and Havana, made one or two successful
voyages through the blockade to Nassau.

A Nassau correspondent of the New York Times on February
15, 1862, wrote: “On Tuesday last, the 11th of February,

1862, the old steamer Governor Dudley arrived from Charleston
with 400 bales of cotton. The captain, fearing the cotton
would go North if sold here, refused to take any price for it.
After taking out a British register and changing her name to
the Nellie, he left for Havana with a Nassau pilot on board to
carry him across the [Bahama] Banks. He intends taking a
return cargo to Charleston, and expects to be back here in about
a month with more cotton. The Nellie is an old boat, nearly
used up both in hull and machinery. Her speed is not over 8
or 10 knots, with a full head of steam.” The other boats for-
merly comprising the Wilmington and Charleston line were
probably too old for blockade-running service. The Wilmington
was sold to run on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Gladiator
went to Philadelphia, and the Vanderbilt, having been sold to
New Orleans, foundered in the Gulf of Mexico while running
the blockade.

Another old friend of the New York and Wilmington line,
which was managed here by the late Edwin A. Keith, the North
Carolina, rendered an important service to the Confederate
Government by carrying through the blockade, as a passenger,
the distinguished Capt. James D. Bulloch, naval representative
of the Confederacy in Europe during the War between the

460

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

States. On February 5, 1862, she completed the loading of a
cargo of cotton, rosin, and tobacco at Wilmington, under her
new name, Annie Childs , named for the wife of Col. F. L.
Childs, and proceeded through the blockade by Main Bar, arriv-
ing at Liverpool, via Fayal, Madeira, and Queenstown, Ireland,
early in March. Her supply of coal was quite exhausted when
she sighted Queenstown, and she barely reached that port of
call by burning part of her rosin cargo with spare spars cut in
short lengths. Captain Bulloch said that she was badly found
for so long a voyage, but she weathered a heavy northwest gale,
and proved herself to be a fine sea boat. I am informed that she
returned to other successful ventures in blockade running under
the name of Victory.

The fleet of runners was augmented by old-fashioned steamers,
partly from the Northern ports, bought by foreigners and sent
via neutral ports, where they went through the process of a white-
washing/7 a change of name, ownership, registry, and flag. A
much greater number, however, came from abroad; a few of
these formerly having been fast mail boats, but the majority
freighters on short routes in Europe, bought at big prices for
eager speculators, who were tempted by the enormous profits of
blockade running.

A few of those, of the better class became famous, as the
North Carolina steamer Advance , before known as the Lord
Clyde; the Confederate steamer R. E. Lee , formerly the Giraffe;
and the Lady Davis, previously the Cornubia. Some of the
others were the Alice, Fanny, Britannia, Ella, Pet, Sirius ,
Orion, Antonica , Hansa, Calypso, Duoro , Thistle, Scotia, City
of Petersburg , Old Dominion , Index, Caledonia , Dolphin , Geor+
giana McCall , Modern Greece, Hebe, Dee, Wave Queen,
Granite City, Stonewall Jackson , Victory, Flora, Beauregard,
Ruby, Margaret and Jessie, Eagle, Gertrude, Charleston, Ban-
shee, Minna, and Eugenie, all of which were more or less
successful.

The beach for miles north and south of Bald Head is marked
still by the melancholy wrecks of swift and graceful steamers
which had been employed in this perilous enterprise. Some of
the hundred vessels engaged in this traffic ran between Wilming-
ton and the West Indies with the regularity of mail boats, and
some, even of the slowest speed — the Pet, for instance — eluding
the vigilance of the Federal fleet, passed unscathed twenty,
thirty, and forty times, making millions for the fortunate

Blockade Running

461

owners. One little beauty, the Siren , a fast boat, numbered
nearly fifty voyages. The success of these ships depended, of
course, in great measure upon the skill and coolness of their
commanders and pilots. It is noteworthy that those in charge
of Confederate naval officers were, with but one exception, never
taken; but many were captured, sunk, and otherwise lost,
through no fault of the brave fellows who commanded them.
The Beauregard and the Venus lie stranded on Carolina Beach;
the Modem Greece , near Hew Inlet; the Antonica , on Frying
Pan Shoals; the Ella , on Bald Head; the Spunky and the
Georgiana McCall , on Caswell Beach; the Hebe and the Dee,
between Wrightsville and Masonboro. Two others lie near
Lockwood’s Folly Bar; and others, whose names are forgotten,
are half-buried in the sands, where they may remain for cen-
turies to come. After a heavy storm on the coast, the summer
residents at Carolina Beach and Masonboro Sound have occa-
sionally picked up along the shore some interesting relics of
blockade times which the heaving ocean has broken from the
buried cargoes of the Beauregard, Venus, Hebe, and Dee. Tal-
low candles, Hassau bacon, soldiers’ shoes, and other wreckage
comprise in part this flotsam yielded up by Heptune after
nearly fifty years’ soaking in the sea.

The Venus was commanded by a prominent officer of the
Boyal Havy on leave of absence, Captain Murray- Aynsley^
known by blockade runners as Captain Murray. He is now
an admiral in the British Navy on the retired list. He was a
great favorite with the prominent people, and especially with
Colonel Lamb, of Fort Fisher, whose description of the veteran
naval officer on the bridge of the Venus, running through the
Federal fleet in broad daylight, hotly pursued by the enemy ?
with coat sleeves rolled up to his armpits, but cool and defiant,
is well worth recording.

The loss of the Georgiana McCall is associated with a hor-
rible crime — the murder of her pilot. When the ship was
beached under the fire of the blockaders, Mr. Thomas Dyer did
not go with the retreating crew who sought safety ashore; he
seems to have been left behind in the rush. It was known that
he had a large amount of money in gold on board, and it was
thought that he remained to secure it. A boat returned for him,
but found his bloody corpse instead. His skull was crushed as
by a blow from behind ; there was no money on his person.
Another man was found on board, unhurt, who professed igno-

462

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ranee of his fellow. This person was the watchman, and it
is said he carried ashore a large amount of money. He was
arrested on suspicion, hut there was no proof. He still lives on
the river, hut the cause of poor Dyer’s death will probably never
he known until the Great Assize.

Examples of dash and daring on the part of noted Cape Eear
blockade runners in this phase of their history could be multi-
plied, if the limited scope of this paper would permit of their
narration — instances so thrilling that it still stirs one’s blood
to recall them after an interval of fifty years. I shall, however,
select from memory and from published accounts of others,
whom I remember as participants, only a few exploits of the
many which might he recorded, and, finally, some illustrations
of the closing scenes when the false lights of the conquerors of
Fort Fisher decoyed the unwary into the snare of the fowler or
hastened the retreat of the few that escaped to a neutral port.

A Close Call.

The following interesting narrative, which is true in all its
details, was told to the writer by the late George C. McDougal,
of Rosindale, N. C., who by a clever expedient kept out of
Fort Lafayette, and made some forty voyages as chief engineer
in the little steamer Siren before his former shipmates were
released :

“The well-known blockade-running steamer Margaret and
Jessie left Nassau heavily laden for Wilmington, and made a
good run across to the North Carolina coast. About 12 merid-
ian she was in the latitude of New Inlet, and she ran on the
western edge of the Gulf Stream until sundown, when she
headed for the beach and made land to the northward of the
blockading fleet of the Cape Fear. While tracking down the
beach, one of the cruisers sighted us and sent up rockets, which
made it necessary for us to run the remainder of the distance
under fire from the whole line of the blockaders. Just as we
got the lights in range at the inlet and were about to head the
ship over the bar, we distinguished a gunboat anchored in the
channel under cover of the wrecked steamer Arabian. We im-
mediately put the ship about, and, with the whole fleet trailing
after us, ran off shore. At daylight none of our followers was
in sight, hut away offshore to the southward we sighted the
armed transport Fulton. As we could not cross her how, Capt.
Robert Lockwood, who commanded our ship, hauled to the

Blockade Running

463

northward and eastward, unfortunately driving us across the
bows of all the cruisers which had run offshore in chase. We
had to run the fire of five of these warships as we crossed their
bows and dropped them astern. During all this time the Fulton
kept the weather gauge of us ; and after a hard day’s chase from
He w Inlet to Hatter as, we were at last compelled to surrender
late in the afternoon, as the Fulton seemed determined to run
us down, there being hardly a cable’s length between us when
we hove to and stopped the engines. Before doing this, how-
ever, we were careful to throw the mail bags, government dis-
patches, and ship’s papers into the furnace of the fireroom,
where they were quickly consumed.

“While our ship’s company was being transferred to the
Fulton , the United States steamer Keystone State and two other
cruisers came up, and sent several boats’ crews aboard the
Margaret and Jessie, who looted her of all the silver, cutlery,
glassware, cabin furniture, tablecloths, and napkins — doubtless
everything they could carry off in their boats. The Fulton ,
having sent a prize crew on board, took us in tow for Hew York,
where, immediately on our arrival, we were confined in Ludlow
Street J ail. Two days after, the officers and crew of the block-
ade runner Ella and Annie were brought in, she having been
captured off Wilmington after a desperate resistance by her
brave commander, Captain Bonneau. During our incarceration
we were visited frequently by United States deputy marshals,
who tried to identify some of us suspected of holding commis-
sions in the Confederate service and of being regularly engaged
in blockade running, as distinguished from those less harmful
members of the crew who would be only too glad to abandon
further attempts on regaining their liberty. These officers were
immediately assailed with questions from all quarters. What
are you going to do with us here?’ ‘Are you going to let us
out?’ to which they would respond, We can not tell — the crew
lists have been sent to Washington for inspection; you will have
to wait until they are returned.’

aWe were kept in this state of suspense for about three weeks,
when a squad of deputy marshals came to the jail and mustered
the entire company. We soon ascertained that the crew lists
had come from Washington, and that we were to go down to
the marshal’s office, where the names of those who were to be
released were to be called out, and the unfortunate ones remain-
ing prepared for a long term of imprisonment at one of the well-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

known prison-pens so dreaded by those who afterwards realized
all their horrors. We were, accordingly, marched down to the
marshal’s headquarters in Burton’s old theatre, on Chambers
Street, opposite City Hall Park, where we were ordered to select
our baggage and prepare to be searched for contraband articles.
The entire office force of clerks had been drawn by curiosity
from their desks to the other end of the large room, where the
inspection was going on ; and, while my baggage was being exam-
ined by an officer, I asked him if he knew who were to be re-
leased; to which he replied that he did not know, but that the
list of those who would be released could be found in a large
book on that desk, pointing his finger to the other end of the
room. When his inspection was completed, I asked if I might
go and read the names to satisfy my curiosity. He said there
could be no harm in doing so, and asked if I could read. I said,
yes, that I thought I could make out the names. Whereupon,
I walked with forced indifference to the desk, and found a big
journal laid open upon it, containing the names of the men
belonging to the Ella and Annie's crew who were to be dis-
charged. This did not interest me; and looking further down
I saw, also, the names of those of my own ship who were to be
released, but from the top to the bottom there was no George C.
McDougal. You may depend upon it, I felt very sad as Fort
Lafayette loomed up in all its dreariness. Looking furtively
over my shoulder, I saw that the desk was so placed that my
back shielded me from the eyes of the marshals at the moment,
and also that the officers and clerks were very busy seeing what
they could confiscate, each man for himself, out of the baggage
of the unfortunate prisoners; and, feeling that no worse fate
could overtake me, I slipped my hand cautiously along the desk,
took up a pen and, imitating as closely as possible the character
of the writing before me, inscribed my own name at the bottom
of the list, and immediately returned to the crowd at the other
end of the room. The deputy asked me if I saw my own name,
to which I promptly responded, Wes.’ When you are all right,’
said he, ‘and will be turned out tonight.’ Shortly afterwards,
we were marched off to a neighboring place to get our supper
at the expense of IJncle Sam, after which the chief marshal and
Judge Beebe appeared, and in due form separated those who
were to be released from the unfortunate ones remaining. I
waited, with feelings that can be imagined better than they can
be described, as the names were read ; and at last my own name

Blockade Running

465

was called without detection of my expedient, which was, doubt-
less, owing to the fact that the room was badly lighted and dark-
ness had already set in. Promptly responding to my name, I
at once passed out into the night, leaving my commander, Capt.
Robert Lockwood, Mr. Charles Craig, the Wilmington pilot,
Billy Willington, our engineer, and several others of the Mar-
garet and Jessie , who, together with Capt. Prank Bonneau, his
Wilmington pilot, and his chief engineer, Alexander Laurence,
were sent to Fort Lafayette, where they remained until about
the end of the war.”

The Kate’s Adventure.

In the spring of the year 1862, the Confederate Government,
desiring to arrange for the importation of supplies for the War
Department, and finding the principal ports of the South Atlan-
tic coast so well guarded by the blockaders that the new under-
taking of blockade running was considered extra hazardous, de-
cided to use the smaller inlets, which were less carefully watched
by the enemy, and dispatched the steamer Kate from Nassau
with a cargo of ammunition to Smyrna, Florida, where an
entrance was safely effected by that vessel, and the cargo imme-
diately discharged and transported across the country to a place
of safety.

The Kate was commanded by Capt. Thomas J. Lockwood, of
Smithville, on the Cape Fear River, who was well known to our
river pilots and seafaring people as a man of very superior skill
and seamanship, and as thoroughly familiar with the bars and
inlets along the Southern coast.

A second voyage by the Kate had been completed, and the
cargo successfully discharged and transported, before the move-
ment became known to the blockading squadron; but, while
the Kate was waiting for the return of Captain Lockwood from
Charleston, whither he had proceeded to bring his family to the
ship at Smyrna Inlet, a Federal man-of-war discovered her
hiding place, which forced the chief officer of the Kate to pro-
ceed to sea at once, leaving the captain behind. The Federal
cruiser landed a boat’s crew, who burned the house of Mr. Shel-
don, the pilot who had assisted in bringing the Kate to an
anchorage, shortly after which, Captain Lockwood arrived with
his family, to find that the ship had already departed. Mr.
Sheldon, however, furnished him with an ordinary whaleboat,
which had escaped the scrutiny of the Federal man-of-war’s
30

4:66

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

men, and Captain Lockwood at once determined to undertake
the voyage in this frail craft, and overtake the Kate at Nassau.
The boat was only sixteen feet long and not at all well found for
such a perilous voyage.

After a short delay, the captain, his brave wife, their two
children, and a hired hoy, found themselves safe over the bar
and headed for the Bahamas. The following account of this
remarkable voyage was written by Mrs. Lockwood, and has been
kindly furnished by her brother, Mr. McDougal :

“ After the baggage was safe on board, I was carried in a
man’s arms through the surf and placed in the boat, and we
started over the sea in our frail little craft. A few yards from
shore, we discovered that she was sinking, hut turned hack in
time to reach the beach, to which I was again transferred just
as the boat went down. With some difficulty she was recovered,
when it was found that the plug had come out of the bottom
while drawing the boat over the beach. We soon found a remedy
for this trouble, and proceeded to cross the Gulf Stream. On
the following morning, the wind blew a gale. The waves dashed
high over us all day, while the wind increased in fury. For
fifteen hours we waited and prayed, thinking that every moment
would be our last. About five o’clock in the evening, we dis-
covered a reef and steered along the rocks to find an opening,
so that we might cross the line of breakers and get into calm
water. Oakie told us to sit still and hold fast to the boat, as we
must go over the rocks or sink. As each enormous wave came
towards us it seemed to reach the sky and break over our frail
craft, deluging us with water. For several moments in succes-
sion I would sit under these huge waves, holding on with one
hand and clasping my baby with the other. Breaker after
breaker burst over us, and at the same time lifted the boat
farther and farther on to the rocks, until at last we were plunged
ahead into the smooth water of the bay beyond. By some means,
I cannot tell how, we reached one of the vessels lying at anchor,
when they lifted us all on board and carried us into the cabin.
We could not walk for cold and cramp. On Sunday, the 23d,
the schooner upon which we had taken refuge sailed for Nassau,
and on Monday we landed on Elbow Cay, one of the Bahama
Islands, the wind not being favorable for us to continue farther
that day. On the 25th, with a fair wind, we again proceeded
towards Nassau, and arrived on Wednesday, after being three
weeks on the journey from Charleston.”

Blockade Running

467

Mr. McDougal adds in his journal, that he was then chief
engineer of the steamer Kate , of 500 tons, in the Gulf Stream,
about 150 miles from where Captain Lockwood was cruising in
the little boat; and that the gale was so severe that this large
vessel was obliged to lie to, and suffered considerable damage
in consequence of the severity of the storm, and that it seems a
miracle that a small boat like Captain Lockwood’s should have
lived through such a fearful gale.

The British Flag.

A majority of the blockade runners bore British certificates
of registry and sailed under the British flag because they were
owned and manned by British subjects, and traded with British
ports. This did not save them from capture and condemnation
if caught with contraband cargoes between Nassau or Bermuda
and the coast of the Southern States, whether they attempted to
break the blockade or not. But if they were bound from a
British port, say Nassau or Bermuda, to a home port in Great
Britain, loaded with cotton, they would be protected from cap-
ture by their flag and register and their manifest of British own-
ership; or, if they were bound from Great Britain to Nassau or
Bermuda with arms or war supplies and certified British owner-
ship, although ultimately intending to run the blockade, their
papers would protect them from molestation by the Federal
cruisers. Not so with those under the Confederate flag, which
were liable to capture whenever found on the high seas.

When the War between the States began Mr. Donald MacB-ae
was British vice consul at Wilmington. He resigned, however,
and Mr. Alexander Sprunt was appointed by Consul Henry
Pinckney Walker at Charleston to act in his place; but the func-
tion was suspended by General Whiting because there were no
diplomatic relations between the foreign powers and the Con-
federacy, Great Britain having only recognized our belligerent
rights.

It is remarkable that during the entire war the British flag
was the only foreign colors flown in the ports of the Confederacy.

468

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

THE LAST DAYS OE BLOCKADE RUHHIHG.

By Captain John Wilkinson, C. S. N.

In the early part of December, 1864, I was summoned again,
and for the last time during the war, to Richmond. There now
remained to the Confederacy only the single line of rail com-
munication from Wilmington, via Greensboro and Danville, to
Richmond. The progress of demoralization was too evident at
every step of my journey, and nowhere were the poverty and
the straits to which the country was reduced more palpably vis-
ible than in the rickety, windowless, filthy cars, traveling six or
eight miles an hour, over the worn-out rails and decaying road-
bed. We were eighteen hours in making the distance (about
one hundred and twenty miles) from Danville to Richmond.
As we passed in the rear of General Lee’s line and I saw the
scare-crow cattle there being slaughtered for the troops, the
game seemed to be at last growing desperate. We were detained
for perhaps an hour at the station where the cattle were being
slaughtered. Several soldiers who were on the train left us
there; and as soon as they alighted from the cars, they seized
portions of the offal, kindled a fire, charred the scraps upon the
points of their ramrods, and devoured the unclean food with the
avidity of famished tigers.

It was arranged in Richmond that I should take command of
the Tallahassee and proceed with all dispatch to Bermuda for
a cargo of provisions, my late experience with the governor of
the island rendering it quite probable that he would prevent
the Chickamauga from even discharging her cargo as a merchant
vessel. That steamer (the Tallahassee ), of so many aliases, had
just returned from a short cruise under Captain Ward, of the
Confederate States Havy. She was now christened again, and
bore, thenceforward, the appropriate name of Chameleon. Her
battery was dismounted, her officers and crew detached, and she
was ostensibly sold to the navy agent at Wilmington. A regis-
ter and bill of sale were prepared in legal form, the crew shipped
according to the laws relating to the merchant service, and regu-
lar invoices and bills of lading made out of her cargo of cotton.
The vessel, indeed, was so thoroughly whitewashed that she
subsequently passed a searching examination in Bermuda; but
my recent experience there had convinced me of the necessity
of adopting every precaution, and I was left to my own discre-

Blockade Running

469

tion with regard to all the details ; the instructions under which
I was acting requiring me only to bring in a cargo of provisions
with all dispatch.

The Chameleon was in nearly all respects like the Chicka-
mauga, only a few feet longer, and drawing a few inches more
water.

On the afternoon of December 24, the United States fleet
opened fire upon Fort Fisher, the heavy cannonading continu-
ing during the two following days. The booming of the heavy
guns could be distinctly heard in Wilmington.

There was a complete panic there ; the non-combatants moved
away and fright and confusion prevailed everywhere. The co-
operating land forces, under General Butler, had almost com-
pletely invested the fort, and the communication between it and
Wilmington was at one time interrupted, so that it was impos-
sible to ascertain the condition of affairs below. In the midst
of the turmoil, we cast off from the wharf about two o’clock in
the afternoon of December 26 and anchored off Smithville after
dark, the tide not serving for crossing the bar that night.

Next morning the Agnes Fry , an inward-bound blockade
runner, was discovered aground on the Western Bar. Towards
evening two or three of the blockading fleet stationed off that bar
steamed in and opened fire upon her. The bombardment of the
fort was still in progress. A little after dark, just as we were
weighing our anchor, General Whiting, who was then in Fort
Fisher, telegraphed to us that the United States land forces were
embarking, the attack upon the fort having been abandoned. We
were under way in a few minutes, closely followed by the
Hansa, Captain Murray, and parting from her just as we
crossed the bar. I had known the captain for many months,
under his assumed name, and it was quite generally understood
that he held a commission in the British Navy. While I was
living in Nova Scotia, some years afterwards, the card of Cap-
tain A., commanding H. B. M.’s ship J n, was brought to me,

and I was surprised to find in the owner of it my old friend
Murray. Several British naval officers of rank and high charac-
ter were engaged in the same exciting and lucrative occupation
of blockade running; among them the gallant Captain Bur-
goyne, who commanded afterwards the unfortunate ship Cap-
tain, of the British Navy, and who perished together with nearly
the whole crew when she foundered at sea.

We crossed the bar under such favorable circumstances that

470

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

we were not discovered ; nor did we see any of the fleet until we
cleared the Frying Pan Shoals, when we easily avoided several
vessels which had participated, no doubt, in the attack upon
Fort Fisher, and were now about to take their stations off the
Western Bar.

We made a rapid, though very rough voyage to Bermuda, a
stormy northwest gale following us nearly the whole distance.
The Prussian Major Von Borcke, who had served on General
“Jeb” Stuart’s staff and who afterwards published (in Black -
wood’s) his experience of the war, was a passenger. The major
was no sailor, and his sufferings from seasickness were much
aggravated by a gunshot wound in his throat. As the engines
of the Chameleon would “race” in the heavy sea following us,
and her whole frame would vibrate, he declared in military
phraseology (“our army swore terribly in Flanders”) that he
would rather encounter the dangers of a “stricken field” than
voluntarily endure an hour of such torture.

We arrived at St. George’s on the 30th of December; and our
troubles immediately commenced. It was the 5th of January
before permission was received to land our cargo of cotton, His
Excellency, the governor, having called upon the law officers of
the Crown for aid in the dire dilemma. When the vessel’s
papers were at last pronounced correct, we discharged our cargo ;
and then arose the perplexing question of loading. I haven’t
the slightest doubt that the American consul was sadly bothering
His Excellency all this time; however, permission was finally
granted to us to take in provisions, hut no munitions of war.
As we did not want “hardware,” as munitions of war were then
invoiced, we proceeded to load. But a great deal of time had
been lost, and we did not take our departure for Wilmington till
the 10th of January. We had on board as passengers General
Preston and staff, returning from Europe.

Our voyage across was very rough, and the night of our
approach to Hew Inlet Bar was dark and rainy. Between one
and two o’clock in the morning, as we were feeling our way with
the lead, a light was discovered nearly ahead and a short dis-
tance from us. As we drew closer in and “sheered” the Chame-
leon, so as to bring the light abeam, I directed our signal officer
to make the regular signal. Ho reply was made to it, although
many lights now began to appear looming up through the driz-
zling rain. These were undoubtedly camp fires of the United
States troops outside of Fort Fisher; but it never occurred to

Blockade Running

471

me as possible that a second attack could have been made, and
successfully, in the brief period of time which had elapsed since
our departure from Wilmington. Believing that I had made
some error in my day’s observations, the Chameleon was put to
sea again, as the most prudent course in the emergency. The
night was too far spent to allow of any delay. Orders were
therefore given to go at full speed, and by daylight we had made
an offing of forty or fifty miles from the coast. Clear and
pleasant weather enabled me to establish our position accurately
(it was my invariable custom at sea, during the war, to take my
own observations), and early in the night we made the Mound
Light ahead, for which I had shaped our course. The range
lights were showing, and we crossed the bar without interfer-
ence, but without a suspicion of anything wrong, as it would
occasionally happen, under particularly favorable circumstances,
that we would cross the bar without even seeing a blockader.
We were under the guns of Fort Fisher, in fact, and close to the
fleet of United States vessels, which had crossed the bar after the
fall of the fort, when I directed my signal officer to communicate
with the shore station. His signal was promptly answered, but
turning to me, he said, “Ho Confederate signal officer there, sir;
he can not reply to me.” The order to wear round was instantly
obeyed; not a moment too soon, for the bow of the Chameleon
was scarcely pointed for the bar before two of the light cruisers
were plainly visible in pursuit, steaming with all speed to inter-
cept us. Nothing saved us from capture but the twin screws,
which enabled our steamer to turn as upon a pivot in the narrow
channel between the bar and the Rip. We reached the bar be-
fore our pursuers, and were soon lost to their sight in the dark-
ness outside. Our supply of coal being limited, the course was
shaped for Nassau as the nearer port, where we arrived without
accident. A day or two after our arrival the news came of the
fall of Fort Fisher.

Several narrow escapes, besides our own, were made. Maffitt,
in command of the Owl , crossed the Western Bar a night or two
after the fall of Fort Fisher, and while our troops were evacu-
ating Fort Caswell and other military stations along the river.
Crossing the bar and suspecting no danger, he continued on his
way up to Smithville, where he anchored. He was boarded a
few moments afterwards by a boat from our military post there.
The officer in command of the boat informed him of the capture
of Fort Fisher, and that our troops were then evacuating Fort

472

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Caswell, adding that several vessels of the Federal fleet had
crossed the New Inlet Bar, and were at anchor in the river
almost within hail of him. Maffitt was about to give the order to
slip the chain, “not standing upon the order of his going,” when
his pilot begged for permission to go ashore, if only for ten min-
utes. He represented the situation of his wife, whom he had
left ill and without means of support, in such moving terms, that
Maffitt granted permission, upon condition that he would return
speedily. The pilot was faithful to his promise, returning in
fifteen or twenty minutes. During his absence, steam was
raised and the chain unshackled. As the pilot’s foot touched
the deck of the Owl , the boat was hooked on and run up the
davits, the chain slipped, and the Owl upon her way to sea again.

Another blockade runner is said to have been not so fortunate.
She had run the gauntlet safely and come to anchor off Smith-
ville. The tarpaulins had been removed from the hatches, the
lamps lighted, and a cold supper spread upon the table, at which
the passengers were seated, two or three officers of the British
Army among them. A toast to the captain having been pro-
posed, they had just tossed off a bumper of champagne to his
health and continued successes, and he was about to reply to the
compliment, when the officer of the deck reported that a boat was
coming alongside. The captain received the officer at the gang-
way. The mail-ba^, according to the usual routine, was given
to the latter for transportation to the shore ; and the customary
inquiries made after the name of the vessel, cargo, number of
passengers, etc. The astounded captain was then informed that
his vessel was a prize to the United States ship, then at anchor
near him !

Charleston was now the only harbor on the Atlantic coast at
all accessible, and that must evidently soon fall; but a cargo
might be landed there before that inevitable catastrophe, and,
fully appreciating the exigency, I determined to make the effort.
Even after the occupation of Wilmington by the United States
troops, there would remain an interior line of communication
between Charleston and Virginia. The facts of history prove
that the importance of carrying in a cargo of provisions was
not exaggerated, for the Army of Northern Virginia was shortly
afterwards literally starving ; and during their retreat from the
position around Petersburg, the country adjacent to their line
was swarming with soldiers who had left the ranks in search
of food.

Blockade Running

473

But it was the part of prudence to ascertain, positively, before
sailing, that Charleston was still in our possession. This in-
telligence was brought by the Chicora, which arrived at Nassau
on the 30th of January; and on February 1, the Owl , Carolina ,
Dream, Chicora, and Chameleon sailed within a few hours of
each other for Charleston.

We passed Abaco Light soon after dark and shaped our course
direct for Charleston. At early dawn the next morning, while
I was lying awake in my room on the bridge, I heard the officer
of the deck give the quick, sharp order to the helmsman, “Hard
a-port.” The steering wheel in all of the blockade runners was
upon the bridge and immediately forward of the captain’s state-
room, and the officer of the deck kept his watch upon the bridge.
As I never undressed at night while at sea in command during
the war, I was out upon the deck in a moment ; and then I saw,
distant two or three miles and directly in our former course, a
large side- wheel steamer. From her size and rig I guessed her
to be the Vanderbilt ; and I was afraid that the Chameleon had
at last found more than her match, for the Vanderbilt enjoyed
the reputation of great speed. We were around before we were
discovered, but as the strange steamer’s bow was pointed in our
direction a few moments afterwards, it was plain that we would
have to make good use of our heels, and that the race would be
a trying one. The Chameleon was in fine condition for the
ordeal, and the usual precaution of cleaning fires and raising
the steam had been taken before daylight. My staunch old
quartermaster, McLean, who had been with me in nearly all the
chances and changes of blockade running, always took his place
at the wheel on trying occasions. He had nerves of steel, and
would have steered the vessel without flinching against a line of
battleships, if so ordered. Upon one occasion, after we had
crossed the Western Bar, and were steaming at full speed along
the coast, we suddenly discovered a long, low blockader on our
starboard bow, and at the same instant distinctly heard the order
from the stranger’s deck, to “pass along the shell.” I called out
to my old helmsman, “Port, and run her down,” and if the
strange vessel had not moved out of our way with alacrity, she
would assuredly have been cut in two. We grazed her stern by a
hair’s breadth as we shot by her at the rate of thirteen knots.
Before they had recovered from the confusion on board of her,
we had passed into the darkness beyond, and the shell which
they sent after us flew wide of its mark.

474

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

McLean was now placed at the wheel. It was a close race for
hours, neither apparently gaining or losing a foot; but Provi-
dence again befriended us. As the day advanced, the breeze,
which was very light from the northward at daylight, continued
to freshen from that quarter. We soon set all of our canvas, and
so did the chaser, but as the latter was square-rigged, and we
carried fore and aft sails, our sheets were hauled flat aft, and
the Chameleon was kept close to the wind by the steady old
helmsman. I do not doubt that we would have been overhauled
but for this favorable contingency. Head to wind, our pursuers
would certainly have overtaken us, and off the wind her chances
would have been almost equally good. But she began to drop
gradually to leeward as the wind continued steady, and by two
o’clock in the afternoon she was five or six miles distant on our
lee quarter. Although we had not increased the distance be-
tween us much, if any, since the commencement of the chase, we
had weathered upon the chaser until her sails had become useless
about twelve o’clock, when she furled them. As the snowy cloud
of canvas was rolled up like magic, and the tall, tapering spars
were seen in its place, I supposed the cruiser was about to retire
from the contest; but she still followed with the tenacity of a
bloodhound. Apparently to no purpose, however, till about two
o’clock, when the chief engineer, Mr. Schroeder, appeared on
the bridge with the report that the journals were heated, and
it was absolutely necessary to stop in order to ease the bearings.
This was a predicament, indeed, but when I looked down into
the hold and saw the clouds of vapor rising from the overheated
journals, as a stream of water was being pumped upon them, I
saw that Schroeder was right in the assertion that unless the
bearings were instantly eased the machinery would give way.
I had implicit confidence in Schroeder, and it had been justly
earned, for he had served long under my command, and had
always displayed, under trying circumstances, great coolness,
presence of mind, and ability. He made every preparation for
the work before him, taking off his coat, and when every-
thing was in readiness, the order to stop the engines was given.
In a few moments we lay like a log upon the water, and the
chaser was rapidly lessening the distance between us. The sus-
pense became almost intolerable. Our fate was hanging by a
thread; but in ten minutes the journals had been cooled off, the
bearings eased, and the Chameleon again sprang ahead with
renewed speed. The steamer in chase had approached nearly

Blockade Running

475

within cannon shot — probably within long range — but in the
course of the next hour we had gained so rapidly in the race that
the pursuit was abandoned as hopeless ; and as the stranger wore
around, to resume her station under easy steam, we followed in
her wake till dark, when we evaded her without difficulty and
continued on our course toward Charleston.

But another precious day had been lost, and subsequent un-
favorable weather still further retarding our progress, we did
not reach the coast near Charleston Bar till the fifth night after
our departure from Nassau. The blockading fleet had been
reinforced by all the light cruisers from the approaches to the
Cape Fear Biver; and, as we drew in to the land, we were so
frequently compelled to alter the course of the Chameleon in
order to evade the blockaders, that we did not reach the bar till
long after midnight, and after the tide had commenced to fall.
I was tempted to force the pilot to make the attempt, but finally
yielded to the assurances that access was impossible under the
circumstances. As this was the last night during that moon,
when the bar could be crossed during the dark hours, the course
of the Chameleon was again, for the last time, shaped for
Nassau. As we turned away from the land, our hearts sank
within us, while the conviction forced itself upon us that the
cause for which so much blood had been shed, so many miseries
bravely endured, and so many sacrifices cheerfully made, was
about to perish at last.

The closing scenes of blockade running are described by
Colonel Scharf in his History of the Confederate States Navy
as follows :

“The military and naval expeditions against Wilmington in
December, 1864, and in January, 1865, resulted in the capture
of the forts and the closing of the port. Eight vessels left the
port of Nassau between the 12th and 16th of January, one of
which took four one-hundred-pounder Armstrong guns ; and at
the time of their sailing there were over two and a half million
pounds of bacon stored at Nassau awaiting transportation. The
confidence reposed in the defense of Wilmington continued un-
abated on the part of the blockade runners, and the Charlotte ,
the Blenheim, and the Stag, all British steamers, ran in after
the fall of Fort Fisher, and were captured bv the Federal
cruisers in the river. The blockade runner Owl, Capt. John N.
Maffitt, C. S. N., in command, succeeded in passing over the bar

476

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

near Fort Caswell, and anchored at Smithville on the night the
forts were evacuated; but immediately returned to Bermuda,
arriving on the 21st, and carrying the news of the fall of Fort
Fisher and the end of blockade running at Wilmington. Her
arrival was timely, stopping the Maud Campbell , Old Domin-
ion> Florence , Deer , and Virginia. Most, if not all, of these
steamers now turned their prows towards Charleston, the last
harbor remaining accessible; and, though the fall of that city
was impending, yet a cargo might he safely landed and trans-
ported along the interior line to the famishing armies of the
Confederate States. To that end Captain Wilkinson determined
to make the effort, which was a brave and gallant one, hut was
ineffectual. The blockading fleet, reinforced from that off Wil-
mington, now closed every practical entrance; hut it was not
until after assurances from the pilot that entrance was impos-
sible, that Captain Wilkinson turned back. The Chicora, more
fortunate than the Chameleon , ran into Charleston, but, finding
the city evacuated, ran out, despite the effectiveness of the
blockade, and reached Nassau on the 28th. The Fox , less for-
tunate, ran into Charleston in ignorance of its capture and was
seized by the Federal cruisers.

“Capt. John N. Maffitt, C. S. N., in the Owl , left Havana,
about the middle of March, within a quarter of an hour after
the United States ship Cherokee steamed out of the harbor.
Passing Morro Castle, the Owl hugged the coast towards the
west, followed by the Cherokee, the chase continuing for an hour
or more. The Owl had speed, and Maffitt had the seamanship
to ‘throw dust into the eyes’ of his pursuer by changing her coal
from hard to soft, thus clouding the air with dense black smoke, 1
under cover of which the Oiul turned on the Cherokee, and,
steaming away to the stern of the cruiser, disappeared in the
darkness of night and storm.”

THE CONFEDERATE NAVY.

If the Federal Government was unprepared for naval warfare
at the beginning of the civil strife, the Confederacy was even
less prepared, for it could not claim the ownership of a single
ship. In a conversation shortly after the war, our distinguished
naval officer, Capt. John Newland Maffitt, said:

Blockade Running

477

“The Northern Navy contributed materially to the successful
issue of the war. The grand mistake of the South was neglect-
ing her navy. All our army movements out West were baffled
by the armed Federal steamers which swarmed on Western
waters, and which our government had provided nothing to
meet. Before the capture of New Orleans, the South ought to
have had a navy strong enough to prevent the capture of that
city and hold firmly the Mississippi and its tributaries. This
would have prevented many disastrous battles; it would have
made Sherman’s march through the country impossible, and Lee
would have been master of his lines. The errors of our govern-
ment were numerous, but the neglect of the navy proved irreme-
diable and fatal.

“Nobody here,” he continued, “would believe at first that a
great war was before us. South Carolina seceded first, and
improvised a navy consisting of two small tugboats! North
Carolina followed suit, and armed a tug and a small passenger
boat ! Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana put in commission a
handful of frail river boats that you could have knocked to
pieces with a pistol shot ! That was our navy ! Then came
Congress and voted money to pay officers like myself, who had
resigned from the Federal Navy, but nothing to build or arm
ships for us to command. Of course, it woke up by and by,
and ordered vessels to be built here, there, and everywhere ; but
it was too late.

“And yet,” said the captain, with a momentary kindling of
the eye, as the thought of other days came back to him, “the
Confederate Navy, minute though it was, won a place for itself
in history. To the Confederates the credit belongs of testing in
battle the invulnerability of ironclads and of revolutionizing the
navies of the world. The Merrimac did this; and, though we
had but a handful of light cruisers, while the ocean swarmed
with armed Federal vessels, we defied the Federal Navy and
swept Northern commerce from the seas.”

Colonel Scharf, in his admirable History of the Confederate
States Navy , says: “In many respects the most interesting

chapter of the history of the Confederate Navy is that of the
building and operation of the ships-of-war which drove the
merchant flag of the United States from the oceans and almost
extirpated their carrying trade. But the limitations of space
in this volume forbid more than a brief review of the subject.
The function of commerce-destroyers is now so well admitted as

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

an attribute of war between recognized belligerents by all na-
tions of the world, that no apology is necessary for the manner
in which the South conducted hostilities upon the high seas
against her enemy; and, while Federal officials and organs styled
the cruisers ‘pirates’ and their commanders ‘buccaneers,’ such
stigmatization has long since been swept away, along with other
rubbish of the War between the States, and their legal status
fully and honorably established. We have not the space for
quotations from Professor Soley, Professor Bolles, and other
writers upon this point ; but what they have said may be summed
up in the statement that the government and agents of the Con-
federacy transgressed no principle of right in this matter, and
that if the United States were at war today, they would strike
at the commerce of an enemy in as nearly the same manner as
circumstances would permit. The justification of the Confeder-
ate authorities is not in the slightest degree affected by the fact
that the Geneva Tribunal directed Great Britain to pay the Gen-
eral Government $15,500,000 in satisfaction for ships destroyed
by cruisers constructed in British ports.

“Eleven Confederate cruisers figured in the Alabama Claims
settlement between the United States and Great Britain. They
were the Alabama , Shenandoah , Florida , Tallahassee , Georgia ,
Chichamauga , Nashville, Retribution , Sumter, Sallie, and Bos-
ton. The actual losses inflicted by the Alabama, $6,547,609,
were only $60,000 greater than those charged to the Shenandoah.
The sum total of the claims filed against the eleven cruisers for
ships and cargoes was $17,900,633, all but about $4,865,000
being caused by the Alabama and the Shenandoah. The tri-
bunal decided that Great Britain was in no way responsible for
the losses inflicted by any cruisers but the Alabama, Florida,
and Shenandoah. It disallowed all the claims of the United
States for indirect or consequential losses, which included the
approximate extinction of American commerce by the capture
of ships or their transfer to foreign flags. What this amounted
to is shown in the ‘Case of the United States’ presented to the
tribunal. In this it is stated that while in 1860 two-thirds of
the commerce of Yew York was carried on in American bot-
toms, in 1863 three-fourths was carried on in foreign bottoms.
The transfer of American vessels to the British flag to avoid
capture is stated thus: In 1861, vessels 126, tonnage 71,673;
in 1862, vessels 135, tonnage 64,578; in 1863, vessels 348, ton-
nage 252,579 ; in 1864, vessels 106, tonnage 92,052. Com-

Blockade Running

479

manders of the Confederate cruisers have avowed that the de-
struction of private property and the diversion of legitimate
commerce in the performance of their duty were painful in the
extreme to them; but in its wars the United States had always
practiced this mode of harassing an enemy, and had, indeed,
been the most conspicuous exemplar of it that the world ever
saw.”

Since the foregoing was written by Colonel Scharf in 1887,
there has been a growing aversion to privateering on the part of
the principal commercial powers. A press association dispatch
from Washington during the late Boer War said:

“The report from Brussels that former President Kruger is
being urged to notify the powers that unless they intervene in
the South African contest he will commission privateers is not
treated seriously here. It is well understood, as one outcome
of the war with Spain, that the United States Government will
never again, except in the most extraordinary emergency, issue
letters of marque ; and the same reasons that impel our govern-
ment to this course would undoubtedly operate to prevent it
from recognizing any such warrants issued by any other nation,
even if that nation were in full standing.

“In the case of the Spanish War, both the belligerents by
agreement refrained from issuing commissions to privateers,
and it now has been many years since the flag of any reputable
nation has flown over such craft.”

About the beginning of the year 1862, the Confederate States
Government began the construction of an ironclad ram, named
North Carolina , on the west side of Cape Fear at the shipyard
of the late W. B. Beery, the drawings and specifications of the
vessel having been made by Capt. John L. Porter, chief naval
constructor of the Confederate States Kavy, with headquarters
at Portsmouth, Virginia.

The armament of the North Carolina consisted of one 10-inch
pivot gun in the bow and six broadside guns of about 8-inch
calibre. The timbers of the vessel were heavy pine and hard-
wood covered with railroad iron, giving the ram, when launched,
the appearance of a turtle in the water.

The North Carolina was subsequently anchored for a long
time off Smithville, as a guard vessel commanding the entrance
to the river at the Main Bar, until she was gradually destroyed
by the teredo, or sea-worm, and sank at her moorings, where, I
believe, she still remains.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The Raleigh , a vessel of light construction, was built later at
the wharf near the foot of Church Street; and after being
launched was completed at Cassidy’s shipyard. Her construc-
tion and armament were similar to that of the North Carolina ,
but she was covered with heavy iron plates of two thicknesses
running fore and aft and athwart ship.

The star of the Confederacy was waning in the spring of
1864; a depreciated currency and the scant supply of provisions
and clothing had sent prices almost beyond the reach of people
of moderate means. In Richmond, meal was $10 per bushel;
butter, $5 per pound ; sugar, $12 per pound ; bacon, hog round,
$4 per pound; brogan shoes, $25 per pair; felt hats, $150;
cotton cloth, $30 per yard ; and it was a saying in the Capital of
the Confederacy, that the money had to be carried in the market
basket and the marketing brought home in the pocketbook.

Early in May the condition of the commissariat was alarm-
ing; but a few days’ rations were left for Lee’s army, and only
the timely arrival of the blockade runner Banshee with pro-
visions saved the troops from suffering.

Wilmington was the only port left to the blockade runners,
and the blockade of the mouths of the Cape Eear had become
dangerously stringent. Some twenty steamers guarded the two
inlets, besides two outer lines of fast cruisers between this city
and the friendly ports of Nassau and the Bermudas. On dark
nights, armed launches were sent into the bar to report outgoing
steamers by firing rockets in the direction taken by them. The
ceaseless vigilance of the forts could scarcely make an exit for
friendly vessels even comparatively free from danger. An hour
after dark, Fort Fisher, having trained its sea-face guns upon
the bar, would ricochet its Columbiad shot and shell upon that
point, so as to frighten off the launches ; and then the blockade
runners would venture out and take their chances of running
the gauntlet of the blockading fleet.

In this emergency, Commodore Lynch, commanding the Con-
federate fleet in the Cape Fear River, determined to raise the
blockade of New Inlet, the favorite entrance of the blockade
runners.

The ironclad ram Raleigh , already described, Lieut. J. Pem-
broke Jones commanding, and two small wooden gunboats, Yad-
kin and Equator , were chosen for the purpose. Our late towns-
man, Capt. E. W. Manning, chief engineer of the station, and
the late Engineer Smith, Confederate States Navy, of Fayette-

Blockade Running

481

ville, were in charge of the machinery of the Raleigh. On the
afternoon of May 6, 1864, the commodore visited Fort Fisher,
to take a reconnaissance and obtain as far as practicable the
cooperation of the fort. Seven vessels were at anchorage at sun-
down : the Tuscarora, Britannia , Nansemond , Howquah, Mount
Vernon , Kansas , and Niphon. He arranged a distinguishing
signal for his vessels — a red light above a white one — so that
they would not he fired upon by the fort.

Fort Fisher had its sea-face guns manned after dark by ex-
perienced artillerists, and about eight o’clock the range lights
were set on the mound and the Confederate flotilla put to sea.
The commander of the fort, Col. William Lamb, with some of
his officers, repaired to the ramparts opposite the bar and awaited
the result.

Within thirty minutes after the vessels had disappeared from
the vision of the anxious garrison, a few shots were heard from
seaward, and some Coston blue lights were seen in the offing;
then all was dark as Erebus and silent as the grave. Specula-
tion was rife among the Confederates who manned the guns.
Had the foe been dispersed or destroyed ? Why were no rockets
sent up to announce a victory, to cheer the thousand hearts
which heat with anxious hope within Fort Fisher? A long
night of waiting was spent without any sign save the occasional
twinkle of a distant light at sea. The gunners were relieved
at midnight, but all continued dark and silent.

At last day dawned, the breakers on the bar became visible,
the Raleigh and her consorts appeared, and then outside of
them, at long range, the enemy’s fleet. Shots were exchanged
between the combatants after daylight; one of the Federal ves-
sels fired rapidly at the Raleigh, approaching as she fired, hut,
receiving a shot from the ironclad through her smokestack,
withdrew to a safer distance.

Then the seven blockaders came closer to the Confederate
fleet, showing fight, and probably with the intention of trying
to run the Raleigh down; hut that vessel and her consorts
headed for the fort and steamed slowly in, the enemy prudently
keeping beyond range of the guns of Fort Fisher. It was a
great disappointment that the garrison saw the Raleigh, Yadkin,
and Equator come over the bar and under the guns of the fort,
leaving the blockading squadron apparently unharmed.

The Yadkin and Equator came safely into the river, hut the
Raleigh, after passing the mound and rounding Confederate

482

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Point, grounded on the Pip at the mouth of the river. Efforts
were made to lighten her and get her off, hut the receding tide
caused her to hog and break in two, on account of the heavy
armor, and, becoming a wreck, she subsequently sank and went
to pieces. Little was saved from her; but the crew were not
endangered, as the weather was calm.

The following is the account of the incident given by the
Daily Journal of Tuesday, May 10, 1864, omitting, however,
mention of the accident to the Raleigh:

The Ieoh-Clad “Raleigh” at Sea.

Foet Fishee, P. C., May 7, 1864.

The monotony of garrison life has been disturbed by an act
of gallantry on the part of our navy. Last evening, the iron-
clad Raleigh , Lieut. Pembroke Jones commanding, bearing the
broad pennant of Flag Officer Lynch, steamed out of Pew Inlet
in quest of the enemy. Pot long after leaving the bar the
Raleigh met a blockader cruising about, and gave her a seven-
inch shot crashing through her sides; the Federal vessel being
unused to such an encounter, immediately left, making signals
to the fleet. The iron-clad continued her cruise until after mid-
night, when an unsuspecting blockader, taking her for a block-
ade runner, fired a shot and ran down to pick up a prize, but,
instead of receiving the surrender of an unarmed blockade
runner, Jonathan was complimented by a ball that was more
surprising than agreeable. Thinking in wonder that they had
been fired on by one of the squadron through mistake, the block-
ader displayed the usual signal of a bright blue light, when the
Raleigh , being very near, sent a rifle shell whistling through
her bulwarks. The Yankee “doused his glim” with unexampled
alacrity. Very soon the red-and-blue signals of the enemy were
seen flashing in different directions, giving the alarm to each
other. Pothing more was seen or heard during the night, and
we who awaited the result on the ramparts of Fort Fisher were
relieved when the dawn commenced to roll the curtain from
the scene. Daylight first disclosed the small steamers Yadkin
and Equator about two miles from shore awaiting the orders of
the Raleigh , which they accompanied over the bar. Soon the
horizon was clear, and we discovered the iron-clad eight miles
to sea, in quiet possession of the blockading anchorage. Soon

Blockade Running

483

after, the blockaders that had run off to sea appeared on the
horizon, and the little black dots developed themselves into
gunboats.

First, came two well in view, and one, approaching within
range of the Raleigh, was greeted by a shot ; a long-taw engage-
ment now commenced, in which the second blockader joined;
but the enemy was soon sufficiently amused and ran off, giving
the flag officer a wide berth. Six sails now appeared, but only
one had the temerity to exchange shots with the iron-clad, and
she soon decamped beyond range. About 6 o’clock eight block-
aders came in sight, but notwithstanding the Raleigh steamed
defiantly around their anchorage, eight miles from the guns
of Fort Fisher, not one dared to take up the gauntlet. At 7
o’clock the flag officer, wishing to save the tide on the bar,
signalled for his steamers and turned the Raleigh’s prow to
shore. The little trio formed in line some five miles out, and
steamed slowly in, the Confederate flag waving saucily above
their decks. The fort greeted the Raleigh with a salute as she
passed in.

What damage the iron-clad did to the two vessels she struck
is not known. She was not struck.

WILMINGTON DURING THE BLOCKADE.

(By an Ex-Confederate Officer.1)

After the Capital of the Confederacy there was not in the
South a more important place than the little town of Wilming-
ton, North Carolina, about thirty miles from the mouth of the
Cape Fear River, noted in peace times for its exports of tar,
pitch, turpentine, and lumber.

Previous to the War between the States Wilmington was very
gay and social. But the war sadly changed the place — many of
the old families moving away into the interior, and those who
remained, either from altered circumstances or the loss of rela-
tives in battle, living in retirement. When we first knew it,
Maj. Gen. W. H. C. Whiting was in command. He had been
a United States Army officer, who for a long time had been
stationed at Smithville, near the Old Inlet at the mouth of the
river, where, prior to the war, there had been a fort and a garri-
son, though for some years disused. Whiting was one of the

iln a Northern magazine after the war.

484

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

most accomplished officers in the Southern Army. He was a
splendid engineer, and having been engaged in the Coast Sur-
vey for some time on that portion of the coast, knew the country
thoroughly, the capability of defense, the strong and the weak
points. He was fond of the social glass, and may have some-
times gone too far. He was not popular with many of the
citizens, as he was arbitrary, and paid little attention to the
suggestions of civilians. He was a very handsome, soldierly^
looking man, and though rough sometimes in his manners, he
was a gentleman at heart, incapable of anything mean or low,
and of undaunted courage. Peace to his ashes !

On Whiting’s staff were three young officers of great prom-
ise: his brother-in-law, Maj. J. H. Hill, formerly of the United
States Army, now an active express agent at Wilmington; Maj.
Benjamin Sloan, his ordnance officer, now teaching school some-
where in the mountains of South Carolina; and Lieut. J. H.
Pairley, a young Irishman, who had been many years in this
country, and who hailed from South Carolina. Pairley was
noted in the army as a daring scout and a very hard rider,
withal one of the quietest and most modest of men. He is now
drumming for a dry-goods house in Hew York instead of in-
specting the outposts. We wonder if he recollects the night
when the writer picked up a rattlesnake in his blanket at Mason-
boro Sound.

Whiting scarcely ever had enough troops at his command
to make up a respectable Confederate division. In 1864 he
had at Wilmington Martin’s brigade, which was a very fine and
large one, composed of four Horth Carolina regiments, remark-
ably well officered; two or three companies of heavy artillery
in the town, doing provost and guard duty; at Port Caswell at
the mouth of Old Inlet on the Western Bar, a battalion of
heavy artillery and a light battery ; at Smithville, a similar bat-
talion; at Bald Head, an island opposite Port Caswell, Hed-
rick’s Horth Carolina regiment, about 600 effective men; at
Port Pisher, Lamb’s Horth Carolina regiment, about 700 effect-
ive men; a company at Port Anderson; a company of the
Seventh Confederate States Cavalry at the ferry over Hew
River, sixty miles northeast of Wilmington, on the sound; two
companies of cavalry, a light battery, and a company of infan-
try at Kenansville, forty miles north of Wilmington and seven
miles east of the Weldon Railroad. These, with two or three
light batteries scattered along the sound, from a little above

Blockade Running

485

Tort Fisher up to Topsail, constituted in the spring of 1864
the whole Confederate force in the Department of Cape Fear.

With this force and Whiting’s skill and bravery, we military
men thought we could hold Wilmington, for we justly regarded
the general as one of the few eminently fit appointments that
the War Department had made. In Whiting, we had implicit
faith. So, though there were constant rumors of expeditions
against the place, we scarcely believed they were coming, so
long had the thing been delayed, and, in fact, an attack was
wished for by the youthful Hotspurs to relieve the monotony of
garrison life at Caswell, Bald Head, and Fisher. Thus we had
lapsed into a dream of security, or thought, at least, the evil
day was far off. We ate, drank, and were merry, and there
was marrying and giving in marriage, as in the days before the
flood.

It seemed singular to us that the United States should so long
neglect to close almost the only port of the Confederacy into
which, every “dark of the moon,” there ran a half-dozen or so
swift blockade runners, freighted with cannon, muskets, and
every munition of war, and with medicines, cloth, shoes, bacon,
etc. Through that port were brought, till January, 1865, all
the stores and material needed by the indefatigable Colonel
Gorgas,1 the Confederate chief of ordnance, the most efficient
bureau officer the Confederacy had. Through it came those
famous Whitworth and Armstrong guns sent us by our English
friends. Into Wilmington was brought by Mr. Commissary
General Northrup that rotten, putrid bacon called “Nassau,”
because it had spoiled on the wharves of that place before being
reshipped for Wilmington. It was coarse Western bacon,
bought by Confederate emissaries at the North; and many a
time have we imprecated curses both loud and deep on poor old
Northrup’s devoted head as we worried down a piece of the
rancid stuff. We must say, in all candor, that he was impartial
in his distribution of it, and ordered it given to both Confeder-
ate trooper and Federal prisoner. Northrup himself ate none
of it ; he lived on rice, of which he would buy a hogshead at a
time from the commissariat. We became so vitiated in our
taste by eating it that at last we came to prefer it to good bacon,
and liked the strong, rancid taste. We could not afford to per-
mit our stomachs to cut up any shines, and forced them to
stand any and everything by breaking them into it.

iThe father of the present distinguished officer of that name.

486 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

But the cargoes of those white-painted, bird-like-looking
steamers that floated monthly into Wilmington, producing such
excitement and joy among its population, unfortunately for the
Confederates, did not contain government stores and munitions
of war alone, had as the bacon and much of the stuff bought
abroad by worthless Confederate agents were. The public
freight compared with the private was small. By them were
brought in the cloth that made the uniforms of those gaily-
decked clerks that swarmed the streets of Richmond with mili-
tary titles, and read the battle bulletins and discussed the war
news. From that source came the braid, buttons, and stars for
the host of “majors,” who were truly fifth wheels and did not
even have the labor of “following the colonel around,” with
which the Confederacy was afflicted.

As for ourselves, we never had the pleasure of this sort of
thing hut twice. Once by invitation of our friend George
Baer, alias Captain Henry, who immortalized himself by writ-
ing that celebrated protest concerning the capture of the Grey-
hound, and by his escape from his captors in Boston. Baer
invited us to a fashionable 10 o’clock breakfast on the Index ,
which he then commanded, and the consequence was we nearly
stuffed ourselves to death, and came near having an apoplec-
tic fit.

The Confederate Government used to send some queer agents
abroad at the expense of the people. A Mrs. Grinnell was sent
out by the surgeon general — so she stated — to get bandages,
etc., which nobody else, we suppose, hut Mrs. Grinnell could
get. She was an English woman of that class and with those
manners which any man, if he has traveled much, has often
seen. She gave herself out as a daughter of an English baronet,
and had first come to Hew York several years prior to the war.
Then there was Belle Boyd, who represented herself, we believe,
as an agent sent out by Mr. Benjamin. She was captured,
with our friend George Baer, on the Greyhound. Another was
a Mrs. Baxley, of Baltimore. She represented herself, we be-
lieve, as an agent of old Mr. Memminger.

Mr. Mallory’s navy was always the laughing-stock of the
army, and many were the jeers that the Confederate “mud-
crushers” let off at his iron-clads, formidable things as they
were, had he properly managed the Confederate Havy. Cap-
tain Lynch was the flag officer of the Cape Fear squadron when
we first went there. His fleet consisted of the ironclad ram

Blockade Running

487

North Carolina , which drew so much water that she could never
get over the bars of the Cape Fear River inlets, except, possibly,
at the highest spring tide, and then the chances were against
her ever getting back again; the Raleigh , another iron-clad,
not completed until late in the spring of 1864; and two or
three little steam-tugs. They all came to grief. The North
Carolina , the bottom of which was neither sheathed nor pre-
pared to resist the worms, was pierced by them till her hull was
like a honeycomb, and finally she sunk opposite Smithville.
The Raleigh was beached and lost on a bar near Fort Fisher.
The tugs were burned on the river subsequent to the evacuation
of the town.

Whiting and Lynch, from some cause or other, never were
on good terms, jealous of each other’s authority, we suppose.
It finally came near culminating seriously. There had been an
order sent by Mr. Mallory to Lynch, in pursuance of an act
of the Confederate Congress, not to let any vessel go out with-
out taking on a certain proportion of government cotton.
Lynch was commander of the naval defenses of the Cape Fear.
By some oversight the Adjutant General’s office at Richmond
had sent no such order to Whiting, who commanded the de-
partment, and consequently the port and its regulations. One
of Collie’s steamers was about to go out without complying
with the law. Old Lynch sent a half company of marines on
hoard of her and took possession. This Whiting resented rather
haughtily as an unwarrantable interference with his authority
as commander of the port, and, marching in a battalion of the
Seventh North Carolina Regiment, under Lieut. Col. John C.
Lamb, ejected the marines and took possession of the steamer,
hauling her up stream to her wharf. Lynch said he did not
care how far Whiting took her up the river, hut he vowed if any
attempt was made to take her to sea, he would sink her, and
he shotted his guns. Matters looked squally and excitement
was high. A collision was feared. They were both summoned
to Richmond to explain, and both returned apparently satisfied.
Lynch, however, was shortly afterward relieved, and Commo-
dore Pinckney took his place.

We had often wondered why the port was not more effectually
closed. To tell the truth it was hardly closed at all. Many of
the blockade runners continued their career till the fall of
Fisher. An experienced captain and a good engineer invariably
brought a ship safely by the blockading squadron. Wilkinson

488

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and Carter never failed — good sailors, cool, cautions, and reso-
lute, they ran in and out without difficulty many times. The
great danger was from the exterior line of the blockade some
forty or fifty miles out.

But owing to the configuration of the coast it is almost im-
possible to effect a close blockade. The Cape Bear has two
mouths, Old Inlet, at the entrance of which Bort Caswell
stands, and Blew Inlet, nine miles up the river, where Bort
Bisher guards the entrance. Brom the station off Old Inlet,
where there were usually from five to six blockaders, around
to the station off Hew Inlet, a vessel would have to make an arc
of some fifty miles, owing to the Brying Pan Shoals interven-
ing, while from Caswell across to Bisher was only nine miles.
The plan of the blockade runners coming in was to strike the
coast thirty or forty miles above or below the inlets, and then
run along (of course at night) till they got under the protec-
tion of the forts. Sometimes they got in or out by boldly run-
ning through the blockading fleet, but that was hazardous, for,
if discovered, the ocean was alive with rockets and lights, and
it was no pleasant thing to have shells and balls whistling over
you and around you. The chances were, then, that if you were
not caught, you had, in spite of your speed, to throw a good
many bales of cotton overboard.

The wreck of these blockade runners not infrequently oc-
curred by being stranded or beached, and highly diverting
skirmishes would occur between the blockaders and the garri-
sons of the forts for the possession. The fleet, however, never
liked the Whitworth guns we had, which shot almost with the
accuracy of a rifle and with a tremendous range. The soldiers
generally managed to wreck the stranded vessels successfully,
though oftentimes with great peril and hardships. It mattered
very little to the owners then who got her, as they did not see
much of what was recovered, the soldiers thinking they were
entitled to what they got at the risk of their lives. But a
wreck was a most demoralizing affair — the whole garrison gen-
erally got drunk and stayed drunk for a week or so afterwards.
Brandies and fine wines flowed like water ; and it was a month
perhaps before matters could be got straight. Many accumu-
lated snug little sums from the misfortunes of the blockade
runners, who generally denounced such pillage as piracy, but
it could not be helped.

We recollect the wrecking of the Ella off Bald Head in He-

Blockade Running

489

cember, 1864. She belonged to the Bee Company, of Charles-
ton, and was a splendid new steamer, on her second trip in,
with a large and valuable cargo almost entirely owned by private
parties and speculators. She was chased ashore by the block-
ading fleet and immediately abandoned by her officers and crew,
whom nothing would induce to go back in order to save her
cargo. Yankee shells flying over and through and around her
had no charms for these sons of Neptune. Captain Badham,
however, and his company, the Edenton Battery, with Captain
Bahnson, a fighting Quaker, from Salem, N. C., boarded and
wrecked her under the fire of the Eederals — six shells passing
through the Ella while they were removing her cargo. The con-
sequence was that for a month afterwards nearly the whole
garrison were on “a tight,” and groceries and dry-goods were
plentiful in that vicinity. The general demoralization produced
by “London Dock” and “Hollands” seemed even to affect that
holy man, the chaplain, who said some very queer graces at the
headquarters mess-table.

Seldom, however, was there any loss of life attending these
wrecks. But there was one notable case of the drowning of a
famous woman, celebrated for her beauty and powers of fas-
cination. We allude to the death of Mrs. Greenhow, so well
known for many years in Washington circles. Before she even
crossed the Confederate lines, she had undoubtedly rendered
valuable service to the authorities in Bichmond, and was in
consequence imprisoned by the Federal authorities in Washing-
ton. After coming to Bichmond and laboring in the hospitals
there for some time, she sailed for Europe from Wilmington,
and it was on her return trip that she was drowned, just as
she reached the shores of the South. She had lived past her
beauty’s prime, had drunk deep of fashion’s and folly’s stream
of pleasure, had received the admiration and adulation of hun-
dreds of her fellow-mortals, and had reached that point in life
when those things no longer please, but pall on the senses. Her
time had come. The Condor , a blockade runner on which she
was coming as a passenger, was beached a short distance above
Fort Fisher, and Mrs. Greenhow, fearing capture and the treat-
ment of a spy, pleaded with the captain to send her ashore. He
refused, saying that he would protect her; but she finally pre-
vailed upon him; and manning a boat, he made an effort to
have her taken to the shore. Unfortunately, the boat capsized.
She alone was drowned. It was supposed the gold she had

490

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sewed up in her clothing weighted her down and was the cause
of her drowning. Her body was found on the beach at daylight
by Mr. Thomas E. Taylor, who afterwards took it to Wilming-
ton. She was laid out in the Seaman’s Bethel, where we saw
her. She was beautiful in death. After her funeral, her ward-
robe and a great many articles that she had brought over for
sale, and which had been rescued from the wreck, were sold
at auction in Wilmington. It was very splendid, and the “ven-
ture” she had brought in for sale was most costly. It was said
that an English countess or duchess had an interest in this
venture, and was to have shared the profits of the speculation.

But the storm was soon to rain on our devoted heads. Those
white-painted steamers, clipping the water so nimbly, with the
British and Confederate flags flying, with their brandies and
wines, their silks and calicoes, their bananas and oranges, glad-
dening the hearts of the dwellers on the hanks of the Cape Fear,
were soon to disappear from its waters, and the glory of Wil-
mington to depart.

Hay after day we had watched the blockading fleet with the
naked eye and a glass, and often thought what a lonely time
those fellows must he having, and longed for some northeast
storm to send them on the coast, in order that we might have
the pleasure of their acquaintance. Cushing’s acquaintance, by
the way, we came very near making, when that daring officer
came up the Cape Eear in June, we think it was 1864, passing
through the Hew Inlet by Fort Fisher, with a boat’s crew of
some eighteen or twenty sailors and marines, and, landing
half-way between the town and the fort, concealed his boat in
a creek, and laid perdu on the Wilmington and Fisher road,
waiting for Whiting or Lamb to come along. A mere accident
enabled us to escape him ; and, though of no importance ourself,
we had papers with us at the time that would have been highly
interesting to the United States Government. We all of us
admired his courage, and thought it deserved success. We well
remember delivering Cushing’s message to General Whiting,
repeated to us by an old citizen whom he caught and released,
that “he had been in Wilmington, and would have him or
Colonel Lamb shortly.”

On December 24, 1864, the armada commanded by Butler and
Porter appeared off the coast, and the bombardment of Fisher
commenced, and such a feu d'enfer as was poured on that de-
voted fort was never seen. Coming up the river from Smith-

Blockade Running

491

ville on a steamer that afternoon, we witnessed it, and such a
roar of artillery we never heard. Those large double-enders
seemed to stand in remarkably close to the fort, and deliver their
fire with great accuracy, knocking np the sand on the ramparts.
It seemed a continuous hail of shot and shell, many of them
going over Fisher and dropping into the river. But Fisher
was a long sand fort, stretching in an obtuse angle from the
river bank around to the mouth of the Few Inlet, that opened
into the ocean. It was over a mile from point to point. Though
it was thus heavily bombarded for two days, little or no im-
pression was made on its works except to give them a ragged
appearance, and very few casualties occurred, the garrison
sticking mostly to their bomb-proofs, which were very complete.
Whiting was there in command in person, having been sent there
by Bragg.

The next day, Christmas, was Sunday, and all day Porter’s
guns were thundering away at Fisher, and shaking the windows
in Wilmington, where the citizens were offering up their prayers
for our protection from the enemy. Communication with Fort
Fisher by land or telegraph was then cut off — messages had
been sent up to that time. Toward night sensational messages
commenced to be brought up from below — one to the effect
that the enemy were on the parapet at Fisher (in truth and in
fact they never got closer than the stables, at least two or three
hundred yards from the fort). Bragg sent Mrs. Bragg away
that night at 9 p. m., in a special train up the Weldon Railroad,
and an officer who saw him at about 11 p. m. reported that the
old gentleman seemed to be quite unnerved, and that his hand
was very tremulous. Of course there was a great exodus of
civilians from the place early the next morning, the fact that
Mrs. Bragg had gone off acting as a keynote of alarm to others.
By midday, Monday, however, these sensational reports and
stories were all quieted by the authenticated news that the
enemy had reembarked on the fleet and that the attack had
ceased. Then the fleet sailed, and everything quieted down.
The general impression was that there would not be another
attack till after the spring equinox, say in May or June.

When Whiting returned to the city, Bragg still continued in
command, and his friends and himself evidently took the credit
of having foiled Butler’s attempt. Bragg was a friend and
favorite of Mr. Davis. He had sided with General Taylor in
Taylor’s quarrel with General Scott, and Mr. Davis was a man

4:92

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

who never forgot his friends nor forgave his enemies. He
seemed determined to sustain Bragg at all events, though the
feeling throughout the whole army, and, in fact, the South, was
against that general. When Wilmington was known to be
threatened and Bragg was sent there, the Richmond Examiner
simply remarked, “Good-bye, Wilmington !” and the prediction
was verified.

Whiting, after the first attack, wrote to Bragg, suggesting
that in case of another attack, which would probably be made,
to prevent surprise he would advise that Hagood’s South Caro-
lina brigade, numbering about 2,000 effective men, he thrown
into Fort Fisher, the garrison of which consisted of one raw,
inexperienced regiment, that had never smelled powder except
in the first attack, and which did not number over 700 effective
men. Hagood’s troops were veterans, and had been in many a
battle. He also advised that the three other brigades of Hoke’s
division he placed along about the spot where the Federals had
first landed, and be intrenched so as to prevent a landing above
the fort. Wise precautions, if they had been adopted. Bragg
endorsed on the letter of advice from Whiting that he saw no
necessity in carrying out those suggestions. It was the failure
to carry out those suggestions that caused the loss of Wilming-
ton. Had they been followed, Wilmington would not have
fallen when it did, nor Fisher have been taken. Instead, Bragg
brought Hoke’s division up about half a mile back of Wilming-
ton, over twenty miles from the Fort, and had a grand review
there, in which he paraded himself in a new suit of uniform,
presented to him by his admirers in Wilmington.

Whiting’s prediction about a surprise was shortly to be veri-
fied. Thursday night, the 12th of January, 1865, the fleet
again appeared off Fisher. This time, through Bragg’s im-
becility, it did its work effectually. Friday morning the citi-
zens of Wilmington were aroused by the booming of Porter’s
cannon, a second time opening on Fisher. When the news came
up at midnight that the fleet had again appeared, the hand of
Hoke’s division was in town serenading, the officers were visit-
ing, and the men scattered about — Bragg, no doubt, asleep in
fancied security.

Of the capture of Fort Fisher, and the subsequent inevitable
loss of Wilmington, I shall not speak. These events have passed
into history. My purpose has been simply to portray the aspect
of Wilmington when blockaded.

Blockade Running

493

THE FIRST AND SECOND ATTACKS UPON
FORT FISHER.

On the morning of December 20, 1864, a Federal fleet began
to assemble at New Inlet. It bore the force General Grant bad
sent under Gen. B. F. Butler to reduce Fort Fisher, and the
Federal Navy, under Admiral Porter, was cooperating with
52 warships, the greatest flotilla ever brought together in Ameri-
can waters. But General Butler hoped for the practical de-
struction of the fort by means of an explosion of powder on a
vessel, the Louisiana . All being in readiness, on the night of
the 23d the Louisiana was brought in, and at 1.52 a. m. the
explosion occurred. To the amazement of Butler nothing hap-
pened. Colonel Lamb, the next morning, reported : “A block-

ader got aground near the fort, set fire to herself and blew up.”
So little was the explosion noticed that its purpose was not
conjectured.

During the 24th a terrific bombardment was kept up by the
Federal fleet, but without much damage, Colonel Lamb noting
that the greatest penetration into his sand defenses was not more
than five feet perpendicularly. On Christmas day, Sunday, a
large force of infantry was landed at Battery Anderson, three
miles up the beach. These, being unopposed by infantry and
well beyond the fire of the fort, prepared for the assault. The
beach was swept by the guns of the fleet and had there been an
infantry force to attack the Federal troops it could not have
approached them. At 4.30 p. m. the expected assault was
made, hut successfully repulsed ; and the next morning, General
Butler, admitting failure, withdrew his troops to his ships ; and,
although the bombardment continued, this first attack ended in
disaster for the Federals, the defense being a glorious victory.

Admiral Porter and General Grant were much disappointed
at Butler’s fiasco, and they arranged to make another attempt.
General Grant enjoined the utmost secrecy, and a new force
was quietly collected under General Terry and transported
to Beaufort. The Confederates were jubilant at the defeat
of Butler, and General Bragg, who did not expect an early
renewal of the attack, moved Hoke’s division to Wilmington,
en route to make an effort to capture New Bern. General
Whiting, however, was of a different opinion and looked for the
return of the Federal forces. On the 8th of January the new

494

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

expedition had reached Beaufort, and, all the details having
been arranged by General Terry and Admiral Porter, on the
12th the vessels sailed for New Inlet. Early on the morning
of the 13th, the fleet opened fire on the fort, and by 2 o’clock
8,000 troops, with 12 days rations and intrenching tools, had
been landed at Battery Anderson, and General Terry at once
began to intrench himself from the beach to the river. Hoke’s
division was hurried from Wilmington, but arrived too late to
be of use in the defense. Hagood’s brigade was ordered to
reinforce the garrison, and two of his regiments succeeded in
reaching the fort in time. The arrangement was for an assault
on the afternoon of the 15th, and on the evening of the 14th
Admiral Porter threw 2,000 sailors and marines ashore, who
quickly intrenched themselves in the sand near the fort, ready
to cooperate with the infantry. At 3 o’clock, on the 15th, all
the whistles of the fleet united in the signal, and the assault was
made under cover of a fierce bombardment. The sailors being
close to the front of the fort, and in such numbers, were mis-
taken for the principal attacking force, and the garrison was
concentrated to meet them. They were swept off the approach
to the fort as leaves by a whirlwind. But the troops under
Terry were more successful. Although suffering heavy losses,
and meeting stern resistance, they were able to gain possession
of a traverse at the river end of the fort, and then by the aid of
the fleet, which threw its shells into the traverses held by the
garrison, the Federal infantry gradually progressed until by 9
o’clock it had carried the fort. Whiting and Lamb and scores
of officers and many men lay either terribly wounded or dead,
and at length, after hours of fierce fighting in the black night,
all the blacker from the smoke of battle, the survivors withdrew
to Battery Buchanan, in the hope of finding boats as a means of
escape. But the boats were no longer there, and nothing re-
mained but to surrender.

Note: In the accompanying drawing of the second attack upon Fort
Fisher is seen the Lilian, the blockade runner on which the author,
when but eighteen years of age, was purser.

The Lilian was a beautiful little ship, a model of a yacht, and very
fast. She made many successful trips, eluding the vigilance of the
blockading fleet or showing them her heels; but, finally, on August 23,
1864, during a chase for five hours under fire, she was struck by several
shells, one of which, fired by the Gettysburg, penetrated her starboard
bow below the water-line, making steering impossible. Three of the
Federal cruisers now overhauled her, and when they came along side,

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Blockade Running

495

the Lilian was down so much by the head .that she was almost sub-
merged forward. The author with forty-eight men was taken aboard
the U. S. S. Keystone State, which the next day joined the blockading
fleet at New Inlet. The Lilian was towed into Beaufort and repaired
at Philadelphia. She was then equipped by the Federals with an arma-
ment of two heavy guns and took part in the second attack upon Fort
Fisher.

THE CAPTURE OF WILMINGTON.

Fort Fisher fell January 15, 1865. General Hoke, with
4,500 veteran troops, was intrenched in the sand-hills, opposite
Fort Anderson, and General Terry, deeming his force too weak,
awaited reinforcements before advancing.

At length, on February 11, his strength being 8,000, he
moved forward, but was checked by Hoke. On the night of the
14th, he sought to turn Hoke’s left flank, hut again failed.
Abandoning the plan of a direct movement, he then threw Cox’s
division to the western shore of the river, purposing to approach
Wilmington from that direction. The ironclads began a brisk
bombardment of Fort Anderson, and Cox made a feint as if
to attack the fort in its front, but moved a brigade around
Orton Pond to gain the rear of the fort and possess himself of
the open road to Wilmington. This movement being discov-
ered, General Hagood at once abandoned the fort and took post
beyond Town Creek. The right and rear of his position thus
being opened to the fire of the Federal fleet, General Hoke fell
hack to a more secure position, four miles from the town. On
the 19th General Cox advanced to Town Creek, and Terry fol-
lowed Hoke on the east side of the river. The following day
Cox crossed Town Creek below the Confederate position, and
was able to reach Hagood’s rear, after a stiff fight, capturing
Colonel Simonton, who was in temporary command, a large
number of officers, and 395 men. Two days later Cox reached
Eagle’s Island, and Wilmington was at his mercy. Hoke there-
upon destroyed such property as would he of use to the Federal
Army, and retreated towards Goldsboro. On the morning of
the 22d, General Terry entered and took possession of the town.

The following is an abstract from the journal of Maj. Gen.
Jacob D. Cox, United States Army, with reference to daily
events after the capture of Fort Fisher. We quote from
Wednesday, February 15, 1865, up to Wednesday, February
22, 1865, when he entered Wilmington and took possession of
the town.

496

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Wednesday, February 15: — We started last night at dark
and found the pontoons were very slow in getting up even with
our lines. A division of Terry’s command preceded mine, hav-
ing the pontoons in charge. The train became much scattered
before it reached our advanced line of works, and part of the
boats did not get any farther. It was nearly midnight when
the train reached the Half-Moon Battery, about a mile in front
of our line, where our outer picket is placed. We got about a
mile beyond this on our former trip, and on this occasion we
succeeded in getting about a mile farther than then. Only
eighteen of the boats would be got up, and it became evident
that no crossing could be effected before daylight, even if the
rest of the boats could be got up by that time. It also appeared
that the enemy were on the qui vive , and we could see their
camp fires on the other side of the sound. As we had not boats
enough to make a bridge, and the appearance was that the
passage would be disputed, General Schofield again determined
to give up the plan, and we countermarched to camp, getting
back about 2.30 o’clock in the morning. The weather was
pleasanter than we had reason to expect, for it grew milder all
night and ended by raining hard this morning. The clouds
partly concealed the moon, but it seems to me impossible that
the enemy should not have seen us, as the strip of sand is so
narrow and the line of surf makes such a white background for
the dark masses of the moving column. My own preference
would have been to give up the movement as soon as it was
evident that the pontoons would be behind time, so as not to let
the enemy have any idea of the movement, which from that
time was certain to prove a failure. I suspect, however, that
the plan was a suggestion of Colonel Comstock, one of Grant’s
staff, who is with us as engineer, and that General Schofield
on that account thought it best not to stop till it had been well
tried. The fleet bringing our Second Division is said to have
arrived yesterday. The delay of the pontoons above spoken of
was owing to the impossibility of dragging a heavily loaded
truck in the soft sand with scant teams.

Thursday, February 16 : — Moved the command by steamboat
to Smithville, on the other side of the bay, with a view to
operate on that side of Cape Fear Biver. Baggage did not get
down till dark. Orders given to move up the river at 8 a. m.
tomorrow.

Friday, February 11 : — March up the river, meeting the

Blockade Running

497

enemy’s cavalry as soon as we get three miles from the village.
Drive them hack till we get within two miles of Fort Anderson,
where we go into camp according to orders, and open signal
communications with General Schofield on his headquarters
steamship, and with the fleet under Admiral Porter. Advanced
ten miles today.

Saturday, February 18 : — Move at 7 o’clock, driving hack the
enemy and establishing a line of investments on the south side
of the fort. Have a lively skirmishing fight. The enemy open
with artillery along their line, while our fleet opens heavily on
the fort. At 1 o’clock I withdraw Casement’s and Reilly’s bri-
gades (Colonel Sterl commanding the latter) and move them
to the left and rear around the head of Orton Pond. Reach
the head of the pond about 5.30 o’clock and find there a strong
party of the enemy’s cavalry, who oppose our passage. Moore’s
Creek, running into the pond, has wide, marshy hanks, the
marsh being filled with thick tangled undergrowth, through
which it was almost impossible for skirmishers to make their
way. The road is a narrow causeway, only wide enough for
one wagon, and the enemy had rifle-pits commanding the exits
from the swamps, as well as a second line a little farther back.
We are delayed here about an hour. Succeed finally in driving
off the rebels with a loss to us of seven men wounded and one
killed. Just as we gained the opposite hank General Ames,
with his division of Terry’s men, came up and reported to me
under General Schofield’s orders, and we go into camp for the
night, the rebel cavalry retreating in the direction of Fort
Anderson.

Sunday, February 19 : — The train of supplies which was to
have come up last night didn’t report till 10 o’clock this morn-
ing. We resumed our march up the west hank of Orton Pond
to turn the enemy’s position at Fort Anderson. March about
half-way, when we meet Captain Lord of General Schofield’s
staff, who informs us that the fort is evacuated, the enemy
having left it in the night, after hearing of our movement
around the pond. General Ames proceeds to the fort with his
division, whilst I go on up the river with my command, the two
brigades left in front of the fort joining me. I put Hender-
son in advance, and press the enemy rapidly to Old Town Creek,
where we find him in a strong line of works, the bridge being
destroyed and the creek being both unfordable and difficult of
approach by reason of the marshy hanks so common in this

498

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

region. I learn that there is no ford at which men or horses
can pass for fifteen miles above, but find a flatboat about a mile
down the stream which I secure for tomorrow’s operations.

Monday, February 20 : — Order Henderson to keep the enemy
amused by pressing as closely as possible in front, and direct
Casement to take opposite side of the creek, and thence around
to the enemy’s rear. A little later I order Moore’s brigade,
which is temporarily in my command, to follow Casement, and
go with it myself. We overtake Casement before he reaches the
road to Wilmington behind the rebels. I order Moore across to
the old Wilmington Road, so called, to stop any retreat in that
direction, and with the two brigades under Casement push down
upon the rear of the enemy. They are evidently taken by sur-
prise and we charge over them, capturing their two pieces of
artillery and nearly 400 prisoners, including the colonel com-
manding the brigade. We also take three battle flags. Our loss
was about 30, caused chiefly by the few discharges of cannon
they were able to make before our men could reach their lines.
Moore fails to come to time on the old Wilmington Road, and
the remainder escape that way. The action ended just at night-
fall. I have the bridge repaired during the night, ready to move
in the morning.

Tuesday, February 21: — Marched toward Wilmington, meet-
ing no opposition. ' The bridges along the road were destroyed,
causing much delay in repairing them, but in spite of delays my
advance reached the Brunswick Ferry, opposite Wilmington, a
little after noon. The enemy had a few skirmishers on Eagles’
Island, between us and the city, and had sunk and partly de-
stroyed their pontoon bridge at this place. We get up some of
the boats and with them ferry over a regiment ( Sixteenth Ken-
tucky) . These skirmish across the island, about one mile and a
half, and find some of the enemy on the farther side of it with
a piece of artillery posted so as to rake the road, which is very
straight and flanked by impassable swamps on both sides. I
keep the regiment there, ordering them to make the best cover
they can and set to work to raise and repair the rest of the pon-
toon boats. The rebels immediately begin to burn the supplies
and stores in Wilmington, the smoke rising in columns more
immense than any I have ever seen. I send a dispatch to Gen-
eral Schofield, informing him of my progress and of these indi-
cations of evacuation by the enemy, but before I can get an
answer I receive his dispatch, sent earlier, in which *he informs
me that General Terry has made no headway, and orders me to

Bio chad e Running

499

withdraw my command and cross the river to Terry’s support.
I start one brigade, and send him a dispatch urging him not to
remove all of my troops, as I am sure the enemy is evacuating.
A second dispatch reiterates the order to move, and I start an-
other brigade at midnight, and prepare to move the rest, when,
to my great satisfaction, I got a third dispatch countermanding
the order as to two of the brigades, and stating that my dis-
patches had not come to hand when the orders to move were sent.

Wednesday, February 22: — As I expected, we enter Wil-
mington this morning without opposition, and as it is Washing-
ton’s birthday we hail the event as a good omen. The enemy
has retreated up the road to Goldsboro. I complete the repair
and relaying of the rebel pontoon bridge, and by noon cross the
Brunswick River and the island to the ferry across Cape Fear
River (the channel on the west of the island is called Bruns-
wick River), and so into Wilmington with my troops. General
Terry, being on the same side of the river, marches through in
pursuit of Hoke. My troops are put in camp around the town,
and I assume command of the place. Assigned One Hundred
and Fourth Ohio to duty as provost-guard, and fix my head-
quarters temporarily at the house of a Dr. Bellamy, a fugitive
rebel.

USE OF TORPEDOES IN THE CAPE FEAR RIVER
DURING THE WAR.

Shortly after the occupation of Fort Anderson by the advanc-
ing Federals and the supposed clearing of the river of Confed-
erate mines and torpedoes, the Federal transport Thorn , laden
with army supplies, was proceeding up the river towards Wil-
mington when she struck a torpedo which had been planted in
the channel in Orton Cove and was blown up and sunk. This
vessel was subsequently raised and floated by the Baker Wreck-
ing Company, of Norfolk. The Thorn was piloted by a well-
known negro man from Smithville, who before the war had
served on hoard a United States Coast-Survey schooner.

With reference to the use of torpedoes in the Cape Fear at
the time, Capt. E. S. Martin, ordnance officer, Confederate
States Army, has furnished the following information:

“I do not recollect that torpedoes were used until the fall
of 1864, when they were sent to Fort Caswell to be placed on or
near the bar. They were placed there by me, connected by wire
with electric batteries in the fort, to he exploded as occasion

500

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

required. They were never exploded, however. I tried to ex-
plode them when the fort was evacuated, hut did not succeed,
as the batteries would not work. These torpedoes were large,
carrying 400 pounds of powder. I think the Federal Govern-
ment took them up after the war.

“Just before or during the attack on Fort Anderson, in Jan-
uary, 1865, a number of so-called floating torpedoes were sent
to Fort Anderson to he placed between the fort and the fleet of
the enemy, and were so placed by me under order of General
Hagood, commanding at that place. These torpedoes were at-
tached to floats of just sufficient buoyancy to keep them near
the surface of the water and were provided with sensitive fuses,
so that if touched they would explode. Twenty or more of them
were taken down the river at night and located, as I have said,
at different points in the channel. I think that a vessel, prob-
ably the transport Thorn , was blown up by one of these torpe-
does after we evacuated the fort, and the rest were removed by
the Federal Government. There were no torpedo boats used
in the Cape Fear.”

Since the above information was furnished by Captain Mar-
tin, I learn that during the war a number of torpedoes were
chained and anchored by the Confederates in the following
named channels of Cape F ear River, leaving open a limited space
for the passage of blockade runners under the pilotage of spe-
cially detailed men who were entrusted with the secret knowl-
edge of these mine fields. Capt. E. D. Williams, the present
harbor master of the port of Wilmington, was one of the persons
entrusted with this secret defense against the Federal fleet. He
tells me that the first mine was planted three miles below Wil-
mington at a point in the ship channel opposite Hart’s Vine-
yard, the second was at Orton Cove, near Fort Anderson at Old
Brunswick. This one blew up the Federal transport Thom.
The third mine was anchored outside Hew Inlet Rip near Fort
Fisher. A fourth and last one was outside the Rip near Fort
Caswell.

A number of these torpedoes were brought up with the anchors
of merchant vessels for two years after the war, but no prema-
ture explosions occurred. A torpedo boat named General Whit-
ing was brought into the Cape Fear the last year of the war by
a blockade runner, from England, but proved to be too small
for effective use. At the end of the war she was sunk in the
river near Point Peter.

Peace Restored

EE SUMPTION OF CAPE FEAR COMMERCE.

After the four years’ war, the trade and commerce of the
Cape Fear gradually returned to normal conditions. At first
there was a large coastwise trade by sailing vessels, chiefly
schooners of 150 to 600 tons, and a larger volume of business
direct with Europe and the West Indies in foreign bottoms, con-
sisting of brigs, barques, and sometimes of full-rigged ships, of
British, German, and Scandinavian origin. The exports were
naval stores — spirits turpentine, rosin, tar — and some cotton to
Europe, and lumber to the West Indies.

For many years after the war Wilmington maintained first
place in the turpentine and lumber trade, and there were as
many as a hundred sailing vessels in port at one time. As the
cotton trade increased it was taken up by this class of vessels ;
but in 1881 the new era of steam appeared in the arrival of the
British steamer Barnesmore , chartered by Alexander Sprunt &
Son, which loaded a cargo of 3,458 bales of cotton, 673 casks
of spirits turpentine, and 550 barrels of rosin. Much ado was
made of this occasion, and a banquet and speech-making accen-
tuated its importance to the community; but in his letter of
acknowledgment to the president of the Chamber of Commerce,
under whose auspices the event was celebrated, Captain Tren-
ery, of the Barnesmore , regretted to say that the depth of water
in the Cape Fear was not sufficient to encourage further steamer
trade. He, however, complimented his enterprising agents for
loading into his ship in nine days 3,458 bales of cotton. A few
weeks ago the same firm loaded one of many cargoes within nine
days, and this cargo consisted of 20,300 hales of cotton valued
at a million and a half dollars, yet it caused scarcely a ripple
of remark in these progressive times; hut the contrast of the
Barnesmore with the Holtie is an object lesson in the develop-
ment of Cape Fear commerce. The Barnesmore' s draft was
14 feet. The draft of the Holtie is 20 feet, with seven to eight
feet to spare underfoot in the river channel, which now shows
27 to 28 feet from Wilmington to the sea.

[501]

502

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

REPORTS ON WILMINGTON TRADE 1815-1872.

The following reports on the trade of Wilmington at intervals
of about thirty years, beginning with 1815 and ending with 1872,
will give some idea of the domestic and foreign commerce for the
half-century preceding the War between the States and the period
immediately following it, when every effort was made to recover
from the paralyzing effects of the great struggle.

The Trade oe Wilmington, 1815.

By Joshua Potts.

(A commercial statement which came into the possession of the Chamber of Commerce,
Wilmington, North Carolina, through the courtesy of Mrs. W. H. C. Whiting,
widow of General Whiting.)

Wilmington, though but a small port, affords in season and
in proportionate quantities nearly all the various kinds of pro-
duce that are to be found in the growth of the United States,
collectively — such is the effect of an intermediate climate, an
extensive territory of different soil, and diversity of occupation
of numerous inhabitants.

Portable articles of produce are brought from the interior
country by land carriage to inland towns at the head of boating
navigation; thence they are carried down to Wilmington in
large flatboats, calculated for that purpose.

In the lower part of the country transportation of lumber,
naval stores, timber and spars is facilitated by rafts, conducted
by a few hands down numerous rivers and creeks.

In times of uninterrupted commerce, many ships and vessels
of considerable burthen were annually loaded here and hound
for European ports with cargoes of naval stores, tobacco, flax-
seed, cotton, rice, and large timber of pitch pine; their cargoes
were dunnaged and stowed with staves.

Our produce is particularly adapted for the markets of the
West India Islands, and when we have a free trade, many
vessels of Wilmington and the Northern States during winter
and spring load here, and depart for the West Indies in as many
directions as there are islands, their cargoes assorted with lum-
ber, flour, rice, pork, bacon, lard, butter, tobacco, tar, live-
stock, etc.

A proportion of our produce is transported coastwise to vari-
ous ports, but that of New York the principal — and vice versa,

Peace Restored

503

the merchants and dealers of Wilmington and Fayetteville are
generally furnished with a variety of merchandise from sundry
ports on the northern coast, especially from New York. Regu-
lar packets ply between Wilmington and New York.

Excellent crops of various kinds of produce are annually pro-
duced throughout this country. Our market opens in Novem-
ber, is brisk in December, increases in January, February, and
March, slackens in April, declines in May, and ends in June.
The summer and fall months in regard to trade, are dull, and
the fall sickly.

Those kinds of our produce of the first importance are noted
for the present year as follows :

Tobacco is raised only in the upper country; it is brought and
inspected at Fayetteville, at the head of boating navigation,
ninety miles above Wilmington. It may he had at Fayetteville
at almost any time of the year ; hut it is more plentiful between
December and March. Of late years the quantity has been
reduced, and the culture of cotton substituted, as being less pre-
carious, less toilsome, and of more profit than tobacco. Within
the last fifteen years, tobacco has been lessened in culture more
than one-half of former crops. Its quality is said to have been
inferior to that of Virginia, but of late it has been produced of
amended goodness, and some of it prime. In the first place, it
is uniformly purchased from the planters by merchants of Fay-
etteville, and by them either exported to Europe or sold again
in the United States.

Cotton, upland, is but of recent cultivation in this State, and
is increasing in quantity ; the quality is said to be equal to that
of South Carolina or Georgia. The planters at first put up
their cotton in round bags, but of late much of it is packed in
square bales. There is no inspection of cotton.

Rice : A fine crop is raised chiefly in the vicinity of Wil-

mington, near tidewater, of quality equal to any in the South-
ern States; and a charge for the rough casks which contain it
is always made by the planters.

Flour: The usual crop of considerable quantity; of late

years subject to a good inspection and marked under several
qualities ; the superfine is said to be equal to that of the Middle
States.

Corn is seldom either plentiful or cheap in Wilmington. The
country around does not produce it in sufficient quantity for
exportation.

504

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Tar is not made in as large quantity as formerly, nor is it
produced and brought to market with the same ease; it is an
article subject to waste, and the price generally low. Country-
men, in many instances, have paid attention to cotton and tim-
ber; and numerous inhabitants of that description have re-
moved to the Western States. Since the return of peace, how-
ever, the demand for tar and turpentine has raised the value
of those articles to an encouraging price. It is rafted to Wil-
mington, and after having been coopered and inspected, is trans-
ported coastwise, and a proportion shipped for European ports.

Turpentine is seen at market from June to December. In
consequence of the late war, the quantity has been reduced and
prices depressed; the present demand, however, has enhanced
the value. There is a scarcity at present.

Elaxseed, as well as tobacco and flour, is raised in the in-
terior of this country. It is first contained in bags and brought
in wagons to Fayetteville, and there measured and sold by the
bushel, usually from 90 to 120 cents, according to prospect.
The purchasers at Fayetteville have it there perfectly cleaned
in machines for that purpose, and put up in casks of oak, well
made, each containing seven bushels. When commerce is free,
the price of a cask of flaxseed at Wilmington is generally be-
tween ten and eleven dollars. There is no inspection on flax-
seed.

Lumber, many kinds and of superior quality, is brought
plentifully to market during the winter and spring — plenty of
sawed boards, planks, and scantling, of fine grained pitch and
yellow pine. Pine timber and spars of any size may be had.
Shingles of cypress, 22 inches in length, are plentiful, gen-
erally thin and light, but proportionately cheap. Shingles of
juniper, well drawn and rounded, may be had from a distance,
on timely notice.

Staves are not to be had here in quantity sufficient to furnish
cargoes for vessels ; they are, however, to be had during winter
and spring, and wherewith cargoes of other produce are dun-
naged and stowed. Staves are, however, at times so plentiful
as to compose the principal part of a vessel’s cargo. White oak
hogshead and barrel staves are never plentiful; the growth of
the tree is confined to narrow limits on the borders of the Fiver
Cape Fear. Red oak hogshead staves are to be had in larger
numbers than those of the white oak, and are always more than
proportionately cheap.

Peace Restored

505

It is unadvisable, and often disadvantageous, for a merchant
in a distant State or foreign port to dispatch a ship to Wilming-
ton nnder orders for a cargo of our produce without having
written his correspondent of particulars required. Four to six
weeks previous notice to the agent is always requisite, that he
may have time and opportunity to procure the produce de-
scribed at the best advantage and have it in readiness by the
time of arrival of such ship. Great detention and disappoint-
ment often happen in consequence of voyages being abruptly
commenced; as but seldom peculiar kinds of produce can be
had on sudden notice.

Inspection of produce is established by law throughout North
Carolina. A clause enacts that the shippers thereof shall pay
the fees of inspection on the several articles as follows : Rice,

flour, pork, lard, beef, butter, tar, turpentine, pitch, and rosin.
The rates are low.

On lumber, the buyer and seller equally sustain the charges
of inspection and delivery. Custom supersedes a law for in-
spection of lumber. The fee is small.

Cash or suitable bills (commonly drafts on New York) are
the only funds that will command either tobacco, rice, cotton,
or flaxseed.

Considerable quantities of Liverpool salt were formerly im-
ported, but during our Restrictive Acts and nearly three years
continuance of the late war with England scarcely any has been
brought in. Coarse salt of late has arrived tolerably plentiful,
and although subject to a duty of about 30 cents per bushel, the
last sales per cargo were per bushel 65 cents.

Liverpool ground salt is always preferred at Fayetteville to
any coarse salt, at the same price, owing to weight of wagonage
up the country, Liverpool being the lightest, per bushel.

For a few years since, while commerce was under restriction,
and during the late war, sundry salt works were erected on the
sound, near Wilmington, which, towards the last of the war,
highly rewarded their several proprietors. But, since the re-
turn of peace, the price of home-made salt has, consequently,
fallen to that of similar quality imported. Notwithstanding,
the domestic works will be continued in operation. They will
be productive of profit, so far at least as the duty on foreign
salt may be extended.

The manner of producing what is here called “sound” salt is
by means of vats constructed with boards, into one of which the

506

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

salt water is brought by pumps worked with wind. Three vats
constitute one set, and the sea water under evaporation, after
having deposited the druggy and slimy parts, is timely drawn
from one reservoir into another, by which process the crystal-
lized salt becomes of the purest quality. The grain is of the size
called hominy salt, or larger, and the quantity annually pro-
duced, within eight to twenty miles of Wilmington, is already
more than 30,000 bushels.

Main Bar of Cape Fear, high water at 7 o’clock at full and
change of the moon, depth 18 feet.

Few Inlet Bar, high water at 7 o’clock at full and change of
the moon, depth 11% feet.

Tides on each bar, perpendicular, 5 to 6 feet.

Flatts, ten miles below Wilmington, to town, 11% feet.

Course in, over the Main Bar : When in five fathoms water,
the lighthouse used to bear north half east, but, unfortunately,
a couple of years since the sea encroached on the shore1 and
destroyed the lighthouse; and within a few years an angle to
the westward has been formed in that part of the channel which
was formerly straight, by which circumstance the navigation
over the Main Bar has become difficult. Pilots generally attend
in time to conduct vessels in safety.

Lighterage, between the Flatts and Wilmington, comes on all
vessels above 11% feet.

Also, between the Main Bar and the Flatts, at high water,
are shoals of 14% feet.

Wilmington is situated on the east side of Cape Fear, or
Clarendon, River, and lies north 30 miles above the Main Bar,
and 20 miles above Few Inlet.

The Trade of Wilmington, 1843.

By Robert W. Brown.

(A commercial statement which came into the possession of the Wilmington Chamber
of Commerce through the courtesy of Major M. P. Taylor.)

Portable articles of produce are brought from the interior
country by land carriage to Fayetteville, at the head of boating
navigation; thence they are carried down to Wilmington by
well constructed steamboats and their numerous towboats, com-

iWhy? Because the river current had been depreciated to such ex-
tent in volume and force by the opening at New Inlet as to be over-
come by the current and force of waves of the ocean; thus permitting
the ocean waves and currents to gradually wear away the shore.

H. Nutt.

Peace Restored

507

prising a flotilla on an extensive scale, qualified to carry large
quantities of merchandise up and produce down; and when the
river is not too low for steamboats to run all the way, greater
dispatch is not given in any part of our country. At those
periods of low water which occasionally happen, transportation
is facilitated by the smaller flat towboats, aided by steamboats,
so far as the latter can proceed.

In the course of many years practice of the author in his
agency for numerous merchants of the interior, and since the
establishment of steamboats, he has had goods delivered at Fay-
etteville within a week or ten days from Yew York, and the
merchants and farmers of the back country, hitherto trading
extensively with South Carolina, must find their way to the
convenient seaport of their own State, and Wilmington can pro-
duce a market, for export and import, with all necessary facili-
ties. The larger vessels for foreign trade and the smaller for
coasting have the advantage of two bars — the Yew Inlet and
the Main Bar to pass in and out.

Regular packets ply between Wilmington, Yew York, and
Philadelphia. Steamboats of good capacity ply on the river
below Wilmington for passengers, freighting, and towing. The
healthy summer retreat at Smithville is much resorted to.

The summer and fall months, in regard to trade, are dull;
rivers generally low; crop season with the country people; a
relaxation in town; and consequently business generally is less
active, except the ordinary preparations for renewal of the fall
trade, and the importation of large quantities of goods for their
passage to the interior, which is a steady employment from July
to Yovember. This business demands the constant vigilance,
care, and presence of the consignees and parties entrusted with
it during the most unfavorable period of the season.

A new route is now established by the Wilmington and Ra-
leigh Railroad through the northeastern counties of the State,
leading to Weldon, on the Roanoke, and thence to Yorfolk or
Petersburg. Splendid steamboats, built for the purpose, and
second to none in the United States, ply between Wilmington
and Charleston, conveying with great comfort and compara-
tively no risk the mail and passengers, which route, as already
ascertained, is admitted to be one of the best in the whole coun-
try, avoiding the great hazard of Capes Hatter as, Lookout, and
Frying Pan, in a short seascope between Cape Fear and Charles-
ton Bars, so far as passengers are concerned.

508

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Trade, too, has commenced upon this route with the rich and
fertile counties of the east, whose inhabitants are ready to em-
brace the great facility in prospect of finding at Wilmington a
market for their valuable productions. It is only necessary to
have the supply to insure demand.

Cotton : Upland in moderate supply the last year or two. It
is now packed mostly in square bales, and delivered at market
in excellent order. Freight to England, chiefly Liverpool, varies
as to circumstances % to %d., and it often occurs that cotton
purchased by order is shipped coastwise to New York, where it
takes the chances of a good market, or is forwarded by packet
to England or France. Shipments to France direct are made
from Wilmington. Both cotton and rice can be obtained and
shipped.

Rice: We have often heard a preference expressed for the

rice on this river. Charleston dealers send for it, to clean there
and export in the rough, etc. The quantity made is about
200,000 bushels. There is now an extensive steam mill, besides
sundry water mills, which enable us to furnish in due season
the whole crop of this article, and greatly add to our supply of
clean rice for export from the port of Wilmington. The quan-
tity may now be fairly estimated at about ten thousand tierces.
In consequence, dealers may expect less disappointment in sup-
plies and at fair prices. A steam mill recently erected at New
York has made demands upon our rough rice and takes it coast-
wise. By custom, the purchaser pays 50 cents for each cask
and 8% cents for inspection. The casks are of various sizes,
from 300 to 600 pounds net. About the middle of November
to the first of December we get the first new rice to market.

Flour is expected to be fine this year — the crops of wheat
throughout are represented as excellent. It is inspected and
branded at Fayetteville, under several qualities, and at present
no charge of inspection to the shipper here. The cross mid-
dling, fine and superfine, are generally sent down together. It is
not always practicable to procure superfine alone. Quality good.
Inspection improved.

Wheat is brought into Fayetteville by wagons, where it is
bought, cleaned at mills, and put up in casks of seven bushels
or bags, and sent down to Wilmington for sale or to ship.

Corn : We have it frequently from the northern counties in

this State, brought round in vessels, and also from Maryland.
The demand this year has been uniformly good, and sold at full

Peace Restored

509

prices. The adjoining counties have had satisfactory accounts —
the consumption seems to have increased.

Tar is rafted to Wilmington down rivers and creeks, and
bought of the country people by the raft, from 20 to 300 bar-
rels, afloat ; after which, it is landed on a wharf, inspected and
coopered — the purchaser always paying inspection of 2 cents
per barrel, cooperage, wharfage, and the landing charge; the
whole expense about 12 cents per barrel, including one week’s
wharfage. Our cooperage is good, and attention is paid to
pumping, in order to clear it of water as much as possible.
January to May is the season when tar is most plentiful.

Turpentine is seen in market from June to April. We gen-
erally get the greatest quantities from the 20th of November
until about the last of ~F ebruary. Before and after these periods
it comes in smaller parcels. After heavy rains and during high
freshets we have considerable quantities down at once; and
often at such time the supply offered for sale reduces the price.
Turpentine is rafted and sold as tar, subject to inspection and
like expenses. The buyer, from custom, pays for the whole
raft, as landed, including hard or scrapings as well as soft ; the
hard, however, at less price — one-half the rate paid for soft.
By custom and law of the State, it is weighed, taking 320
pounds gross as the barrel. Our barrels are generally large,
and when packed overgo that weight. The usual crop has been

100.000 to 140,000 barrels. I will further add, in regard to
this article, that on inspection, after the inspector has tried
each cask at the bung with a rod, he weighs a small portion of
the lot, by which the whole purchase is averaged. Inspection,
3 cents per barrel. The crop of 1843-44 is expected to reach

200.000 barrels. The railroad route delivers a large propor-
tion of turpentine to market, which is in addition to the raft-
ing process. The several distilleries now established for work-
ing up turpentine in the home market consume weekly 1,500
barrels of the raw material, and such distilling has become a
great item of business here. They produce rosin, spirits tur-
pentine, and make varnish and pitch.

Flaxseed is an article in regard to the quantity of which an
accurate estimate can not be formed. The seed is sown with no
other view than to produce flax for domestic purposes ; gathered
in quantities and brought to market from the first of September
to the fifteenth of January — principally in November and De-
cember. In common, the quantity received depends materially

510

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

upon the price. Crops of former years, about 3,000 tierces.
Of the last season’s, the quantity exported and shipped coast-
wise, only about 9 to 1,500 casks. There is no other market in
the Southern States where it is purchased to any extent. No
inspection.

Lumber: Many kinds and of a superior quality are rafted

plentifully to market during winter and spring from water
mills; say, sawed hoards, plank and scantling, of fine grained
pitch and yellow pine, promiscuously sawed, however, unless
previously contracted for, and thus sold by the raft, at a rate
to be agreed on, turn out as it may; refuse at half-price, and is
commonly so shipped altogether. Expenses of rafting or land-
ing and inspection paid by the purchaser. Pine timber and
spars of any size may be had upon previous notice by contract
with the country people; and at a time when the waters are
sufficiently up for rafting. Eive well-constructed steam saw-
mills are erected in the vicinity of the town and now in opera-
tion, where lumber of any lengths or sizes may be furnished,
and delivered to vessels bright from the saws. The quality is
excellent — sawed from square logs of good timber. The in-
creasing demand for our lumber, coastwise and steady calls for
it throughout the West Indies, has vastly increased the trade
and employment of vessels. Half the inspection is charged at
those mills, and their prices are uniform. The lumber trade is
also benefited by the establishment at Orton, fifteen miles below
Wilmington, of two excellent sawmills, carried by a never-
failing water power from a pond seven miles in extent, supply-
ing lumber from square timber equal to that of the steam mills
and at the same rates. In a contract with those mills, vessels
meet as good dispatch as at any other.

An extensive planing mill is also erected at this place, where
flooring and all other descriptions of boards are supplied for
domestic use as well as foreign demand.

Shingles of cypress, 22 inches in length, are plentiful and
often good, and may be contracted for to be brought of better
quality and larger size. Demand the past season was good. De-
mand this summer has been less, and a corresponding falling off
in supply — ruled from $1.50 to $4 per thousand. Shingles of
juniper, 18 inches, may be had on timely notice during the
winter.

Pipe staves are never made here. All our staves are gener-
ally very good. In the further progress of railroads and open-

Peace Restored

511

in g to the country, we shall expect to find our stave supply
revived.

Main Bar of Cape Fear, high water at 7 o’clock, at full and
change of the moon; depth formerly 18 feet, hut pilots now say
only 131/2 to 15 feet.

New Inlet Bar, high water at 7 o’clock, at full and change
of the moon, 10 to 11% feet.

Tides on each bar, perpendicular, 5 to 6 feet.

Flatts, five or six miles below Wilmington, 10 to 11% feet.

Pilots generally attend in time to conduct vessels in safety;
and there are now two decked boats in use, besides many open
boats.

The course in, over Main Bar, is much more direct and less
difficult than formerly: a lighthouse on Bald Head Island, as
also a lighted beacon at New Inlet.

Lighterage comes on all vessels above 10 to 12% feet at pres-
ent, in consequence of some operations on the river below town,
which were commenced with a view to improvement.

Also, between Flatts and Smithville, at high water, are shoals
14 feet; consequently, vessels that load deeper than 14 feet,
must go down to Smithville to complete their cargoes. Thirteen
and a half to 15 feet water may be carried out over Main Bar;
10 to 11 feet, New Inlet.

The Teade of Wilmingtoh, 1872.

(Extracts from a commercial statement made by the Chamber of Commerce.)

Taking the harbor as it was, and as it is confidently expected
by those who have studied the matter it will be again, by a
judicious management of the government works now going on,
and completed, we have a capacious harbor, easy of access, with
winds from almost any quarter, perfectly land-locked, and the
approaches to the bar well protected from the principal storms
on our coast, with good anchorage outside. Lying to the south-
ward of all the dangerous capes on the coast which would inter-
fere with navigation or voyages to and from all Southern, West
Indian, and South American ports, as well as to Europe, a con-
siderable saving in the single item of marine insurance is made.

By reference to the report of exports hence, it will be seen
that we furnish cargoes of everything required in the markets
of the West Indies and South America, with perhaps the single
exception of flour, which will soon be within our grasp. Hence

512

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

we are enabled to furnish full cargoes outward, and the return
voyage with cargoes of sugar, coffee, fruits, molasses, and other
tropical products would be laid down in our market cheaper
than in any other on the coast. Again, being “headquarters”
for spirits of turpentine, rosin, tar, pitch, lumber, timber, etc.,
we are enabled to furnish the European markets with these
products on the best terms and to receive cargoes in return of
their products and manufactures laid down at as low cost as in
any other port.

This being a great railroad center, with one line extending
southward and westward through the Gulf States, with another,
in course of completion, extending its arms almost in an air line
to Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago, and other cities of
the great Northwest; another extending northward and connect-
ing with lines to every point of the country, Wilmington offers
every facility for the safe and rapid distribution of importa-
tions, and for the return of the products of the whole country
for exportation.

Steam communication on the Cape Eear River is had with
Fayetteville, and by a comparatively small outlay for improve-
ment of the navigation of the upper rivers, which is in part
complete, would put us in easy reach of the great deposits of
iron, coal, and various other minerals in which the valley of
Deep River abounds. The development of these mining inter-
ests only awaits the restoration of our harbor. Then the value
of this port to the General Government as a coaling and naval
station can hardly be estimated.

The trade of this port is steadily and constantly increasing,
and as our harbor improves will continue to do so in more rapid •
proportion.

Since the late War between the States, the article of rice,
which was at one time among our principal articles of export,
has almost ceased to be produced, owing to the indifferent, hard-
to-be-controlled labor. The crop will not now exceed 10,000
bushels, not enough for home demand.

The production of cotton in this State has been very largely
increased, and although no accurate figures can be given, in
consequence of a large portion leaving the State via the ports
of Virginia and South Carolina, it is believed that the crop
amounts to at least 200,000 bales. At this port is handled cot-
ton from Georgia and South Carolina, as well as our own State,
and during the year 1871 there were exported, principally coast-

Peace Restored 513

wise, over 95,000 bales. The extension of tbe Wilmington,
Charlotte, and Rutherford Railroad and its completion will, it
is estimated, at least double our receipts of the staple.

Spirits of turpentine is manufactured to a considerable ex-
tent in the city, and the whole pine region of this State and
South Carolina is dotted with numerous distilleries worked by
owners or tenants of the forests. Most of the products find
their way to this market.

Exports of naval stores for the past year from this port have
been as follows :

Coastwise. Foreign.

Spirits turpentine, barrels 64,862 47,162

Rosin, barrels 441,341 127,100

Tar, barrels 31,993 5,874

Turpentine, barrels 17,126 836

Leaving stocks in port of spirits turpentine, 7,299 barrels;
rosin, 72,166 barrels; tar, 2,640 barrels, and crude turpentine,
2,842 barrels.

Pitch is manufactured in sufficient quantity only to supply
the demand, and the reputation of “Wilmington pitch” is ex-
celled by none. The manufacture of this article is confined to
the distillers of turpentine in this city, very little being made
in the country.

These articles alone show material to occupy quite a fleet of
vessels. In this connection it should be stated that no vessel has
ever been obliged from choice to leave this port in ballast.

The timber and lumber trade, though not what it was fifteen
years since, has steadily increased since the war, and should
reach and exceed its former figures. Our shingles (cypress and
juniper or cedar) have an established reputation in the North-
ern and West India markets, and may be had in quantity to
suit any demand from the very extended and heavily timbered
swamps on our water courses and railways. Staves could be
had of the best white or red oak to supply any demand. At
present they are called for almost entirely for home consump-
tion.

Our principal supplies of corn reach us by sea from the
eastern counties; but our rail connections with the West will
soon throw the corn and other grain from that section into com-
petition.

Peanuts are produced to considerable extent in the surround-
ing country and form quite a feature in our domestic exports.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The crop of 1870-71 amounted to about 100,000 bushels, of an
aggregate value of $200,000. The crop this year is largely in
excess.

Among the manufactures of interest and value should be
mentioned cane fibre, by a patented process from the swamp
cane, with which our swamps abound, and which is reproduced
in three years after cutting and of a quality superior to the
original growth. The prepared fibre is used in the manufacture
of paper and papier-mache goods.

Barrel shooks are manufactured to a great extent and shipped
to Northern markets for the reception of syrups from sugar
manufactories.

Fuel for manufacturing purposes is very cheap, and princi-
pally of the surplus sawdust and shavings from steam saw and
planing mills, which may he had for the asking. Pine wood is
in abundance at low prices.

Banking facilities are by no means sufficient to meet the de-
mands of trade; but as our people recuperate more steadily
from the disastrous effects of their late struggle, this want is
being supplied.

In the present condition of our bar and river, vessels drawing
over 12 to 12% feet require to be lightered to and from a point
outside the Rip, whence they can always sail with 15% to 16
feet. Our harbor restored, we confidently expect to find at
least 20 feet at mean low tide on the bar (with a rise of tide 4
to 5 feet), and the removal of obstructions in the river will give
us ample water for our docks.

CUBAN MAN-OF-WAR INCIDENT.

Early in October, 1869, a remarkable incident occurred in
Cape Fear waters which drew the attention of the civilized
world upon the port of Wilmington. Cuba was in a state of in-
surrection against the Spanish Government and, although there
was no established seat of government, the Cubans proclaimed
a republic. Neither the United States nor any foreign power,
except some South American States, had recognized the Cuban
Republic or accorded the rights of belligerents.

Therefore, when the Cuban man-of-war Cuba ■, alias Hornet ,
alias Lady Stirling , alias Prince Albert , for she had assumed
all of these names in order to escape detection at sea, arrived

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515

on a quiet Sunday morning in the Cape Fear River, she made
quite a sensation, which was increased when two of her officers
appeared at the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington and
called from his devotions, in front of this writer, the late Mr.
David G. Worth, the only dealer in coal in the town at that
time, with a request that he deliver at once a supply of coal for
the Cuban man-of-war. The requisition upon the straight-laced
Presbyterian was promptly rejected, much to the disgust and
dismay of the applicants, who were told that he did not sell nor
deliver coal on Sunday. Meantime, the Washington Govern-
ment was informed by wire that the Cuba , a propeller of 1,800
tons register, with two smokestacks, two masts, brig-rigged,
pierced for 18 guns, two of which were pivots of very heavy
caliber, with a strange flag, commanded by Captain Higgins,
with 300 men and 30 officers, was waiting in the port of Wil-
mington for needed supplies with which to prey upon Spanish
commerce.

Prompt action followed this news. The United States gun-
boat Frolic (formerly the Forth Carolina blockade runner Ad-
vance) and two other war vessels were dispatched to the Cape
Fear to intercept the stranger, and the Federal Court subse-
quently seized and disarmed her.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF NAVIGATION
AND PILOTAGE.

To the efforts of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation
and Pilotage, with the cooperation of the Chamber of Com-
merce and with the aid of our representatives in Congress, are
largely due the development of the river and harbor improve-
ment, the marking of the river and bar channels, the building
and establishment of the new lightship on Knuckle Shoal — the
finest lightship in the service of the United States — the impor-
tant aid to river navigation in the thirty-one powerful new
lights (for which the board obtained, through great persever-
ance, an appropriation from Congress), the construction of the
best pilot service on the coast, the systematic monthly soundings
of the bar by competent pilots, the quarterly charted sound-
ings of the bar and river (which are posted in the Chamber of
Commerce), the reduction of bar and river casualties until they

516

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

are almost unknown, the minimizing of the rates of marine in-
surance, and the establishment by subscription of a fund for the
benefit of the widows and children of deceased pilots of the
Cape Fear River and Bar, amounting now to about $6,000 and
which it is the ambition of the chairman to raise to $20,000.

These are some of the things which the Board of Commis-
sioners of Navigation and Pilotage has done for Wilmington;
and all of this work, and much more, has been done without
emolument or reward, beyond the satisfaction of serving well
the port of Wilmington and the Commonwealth of North Caro-
lina. The aim of the hoard has always been to build up, and in
this constructive work it has received the constant support and
cooperation of practically all the working pilots.

The board consists of four commissioners residing in Wil-
mington and one residing in Southport, all being appointed
every four years by the Governor of North Carolina. This is
the oldest commercial organization in the State, having been
established more than eighty years ago, and it has always been
composed of reputable, experienced men, familiar with mari-
time affairs pertaining to the port of Wilmington and to the
Cape Fear River and Bar.

The commissioners have authority in all matters appertain-
ing to the navigation of the Cape Fear waters from seven miles
above Negrohead Point downward and across the bar. They
license and control the pilots, and have authority to make regu-
lations, and to impose reasonable fines, forfeitures, and penal-
ties for the purpose of enforcing their rules and regulations.
They elect the harbor master and port wardens.

The board meets for the transaction of routine business at 11
o’clock on the first Wednesday of every month, and the chair-
man calls special meetings in cases of urgency for official action.

Bar pilotage is compulsory and, although river pilotage is
optional, the services of a river pilot are employed in nearly
all cases.

CAPE FEAR AIDS TO NAVIGATION.

The aids to the navigation of the Cape Fear, which are
effective in the steady expansion of our commerce, are largely
due to the watchful care and cordial cooperation of our Com-
missioners of Navigation and Pilotage and to our Chamber of
Commerce, supported by our representatives in Congress, and I

Peace Restored

517

may add that they are more particularly due to the untiring de-
votion of our junior senator, Lee S. Overman, whose powerful
personality has repeatedly prevailed in the securing of special
appropriations when other means which had been employed
failed to interest the department officials at Washington.

Our acknowledgments are specially due Senator Overman for
his excellent service to Wilmington in procuring the greatly im-
proved river lights, and the new lightship Number 9J+, on Fry-
ing Pan Shoals, after our former light vessel had been arbitra-
rily removed, and in safeguarding by special act of Congress this
most important aid from a second removal to a much less im-
portant position to us, thirty miles at sea. He has proven the
adage, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

A prominent master mariner has well said: “If we want to
mark a dangerous hole in the public highway, we do not place a
lantern on the next block away from the danger, but we put a
light on the spot where the danger lies.” Therefore, why should
we permit the removal of our lightship from the Frying Pan
Shoals, on which it has been moored as a beacon for half a
century, to a point thirty miles at sea for the benefit of coast-
wise traffic which does not come to Wilmington at all ? With
the lightship ahead, the careful mariner makes the port in
safety; with the lightship invisible behind him, he gropes in
darkness and in danger of disaster.

Comparatively few of the citizens of our commercial com-
munity are interested in the detail work of the Department of
Commerce at Washington, or in its Lighthouse Service, so im-
portant to those who go down to the sea in ships and do business
upon its great waters. This is probably due chiefly to the tech-
nical nature of the information regularly published and easily
obtained from the obliging inspector of the Sixth District, who
has given me the following comprehensive review of the aids to
navigation along our dangerous coast and up the Cape Fear
River to the port of Wilmington.

With general depths of 7 to 14 feet, Frying Pan Shoals ex-
tend in an unbroken line 10 miles south-southeastward from
Cape Fear; for a distance of 5% miles farther in the same
direction the shoals are broken, the depth over them ranging
from 10 to 24 feet. Frying Pan Shoals light vessel is moored
off the end of this part of the shoals, and a red whistling buoy
is moored off the western side of the shoals, nearly 8% miles
northwestward of the light vessel.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Broken ground with depths of 6 to 7 fathoms extends 7 miles
eastward and 12 miles east-southeastward from the light ves-
sel; the least depth is 3% fathoms, and lies 9 miles, 99 degrees
true E. by S. of the light vessel. The outer end of the shoals
is marked by a gas-and-bell buoy (flashing white light), which
lies 12 miles, 118 degrees true SE. by E. ^ E. of Erying
Pan Shoals light vessel. Large, deep-draft vessels generally
pass southward of the gas-and-bell buoy.

Light vessel Number 9J^ was built for the station on Erying
Pan Shoals in the Sixth Lighthouse District. The vessel is 135
feet 9 inches over all, with a beam of 29 feet and a draft of 12
feet 9 inches; the displacement at this draft is 660 tons. The
hull is built of mild steel, with two wooden deck-houses on the
spar deck serving the purpose of pilot-house and bridge-and-
radio house. One steel lantern mast, of diameter sufficient to
contain a ladder giving access to the lantern, and a wooden
mainmast, carrying a fore-and-aft sail, are fitted.

The signal light is carried on the lantern mast. It consists
of an incandescent oil-vapor light mounted in a lens of the
fourth order, and gives a light of 2,900 candlepower.

The fog-signal apparatus consists of a 12-inch deep-toned
chime whistle connected to the main boilers. Steam is supplied
through a reducing valve, and a specially designed vertical
engine is arranged to cut off steam to the whistle so as to give
the characteristic: Blast, 5 seconds; silent, 55 seconds. A sub-
marine hell, actuated by compressed air, strikes one stroke every
3 seconds.

This vessel was equipped with radio outfit before being placed
on the station, so that its effective date would he coincident
with the establishment of the vessel. This installation has an
effective radius of about 200 miles, and besides being of great
value to passing vessels, it is of great aid to the Lighthouse
Service in keeping the vessel to the highest state of efficiency
as an aid.

The propelling machinery consists of one vertical, direct-
action, surface-condensing, fore-and-aft compound engine, hav-
ing cylinders 16 and 31 inches in diameter by 24 inches stroke,
driving a cast-steel propeller 8 feet in diameter by ten-foot
pitch, and supplied by steam under a pressure of 110 pounds
per square inch of heating surface. The machinery and boilers
are located amidship. The vessel is fitted throughout with all
modern appliances, including steam windlass, sanitary plumb-

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519

ing and fixtures, and drainage system, but has no electric-light-
ing system.

The complement of this vessel is four officers and ten men.
The officers’ quarters, mess-room, pantry, and bathroom are
located as far as practicable on the main deck. Quarters for
the crew, including the galley, are located on the main deck just
forward of the boilers and machinery. The oil-room and stores
are located on the lower deck and in the hold forward and aft.
The hull is yellow, with “Frying Pan” in large black letters on
each side. This vessel was constructed under the Act of May
27, 1908, appropriating $115,000. The vessel was built under
contract at Muskegon, Michigan, and the cost was $104,080.37.
Construction was commenced on May 28, 1909, and was com-
pleted and the vessel delivered to the government on June 13,
1911. On November 15, 1911, the light vessel was placed on
the station in the Sixth Lighthouse District.

The cape is a low, sharp point of sand beach forming the
southern extremity of Smith’s Island. The island, lying on the
eastern side of the entrance to Cape Fear River, is mostly low
and marshy, but has a thick growth of trees on its western side.
Near the southern end of the island is Cape Fear Lighthouse,
which will usually be the first object seen in approaching the
cape.

The lighthouse on the cape is a white, iron, skeleton tower,
upper part black. The light is flashing white (light 2.3, eclipse
7.7 seconds), 159 .feet above the water, and visible 19 miles.
The light is incandescent oil vapor, using a mantle 2*4 inches
in diameter, and the intensity of the flash through the lens,
which is six feet in diameter, is 160,000 candles. This light
was built in 1903, and is, with one exception, the newest and
most modern first-class lighthouse in the district.

On the west side of Smith’s Island, east side of the entrance
to the Cape Fear River, is Bald Head Lighthouse. The struc-
ture is a white, octagonal, pyramidal tower. The light is flash-
ing white, with a dark sector between 220 degrees and 308 de-
grees, 99 feet above the water, and visible 16 miles. This light
has recently been converted from an oil light with a keeper
to an unwatched gaslight, and now forms a part of the system
described below.

Cape Fear River has a total length of above 371 miles, and
empties into the sea immediately west of Cape Fear. It is the
approach of the city of Wilmington, which is 27 miles above its

520

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

mouth. Frying Pan Shoals light vessel, Cape Fear Light-
house, and Bald Head Lighthouse are the principal guides for
the approach.

The entrance of the river is obstructed by a bar which ex-
tends about two miles off-shore. The channel is under improve-
ment to secure a depth of 26 feet from the sea to Wilmington,
with a width of 400 feet across the bar, 300 feet in the river,
and an increased width at the bends. In June, 1912, the full
depth had been obtained, but not the full width in places. The
channel is well marked by range lights and buoys, and with
the aid of a chart it could not he difficult for a stranger of 16-
feet draft to navigate it on a rising tide.

Cape Fear Fiver Lights.

These aids consist of thirty-three lights marking the dredged
channels of the Cape Fear Fiver. They replace twenty-nine
lights, mostly of the oil-burning post-lantern type, on old wooden
structures, and not properly placed to mark the new channels.
Ten of the new lighted beacons were established December 1,
1912, and the remainder November 15, 1913.

The aids extend along the Cape Fear Fiver from the entrance
to Wilmington, a distance of about twenty-nine miles. The
sites are (except in three cases) submarine, the depth of water
averaging six feet. The bottom is hard sand, underlaid in a
few cases with rock.

The substructures built on marine sites (thirty in all) con-
sist each of four reinforced concrete piles and connecting
beams. These are surmounted by skeleton towers of galvanized
iron pipe, carrying slatted wooden daymarks. Towers for rear
range lights are thirty feet high and for front lights and others
ten feet high.

A variety of illuminating apparatus has been installed, as
follows :

No.

Apparatus

Illuminant

Characteristic

Candlepower

Reflector

Oil

Fixed

3,100

Range lens

Acetylene

Flashing every second

3,000

4th Order lens

Acetylene

Occulting every 2 seconds

830

300 mm. lens lanterns

Acetylene

Flashing every second

200

300 mm. lens lanterns

Acetylene

Flashing every 3 seconds

200

300 mm. lens lanterns

Acetylene

Occulting every 2 seconds

200

300 mm. lens lanterns

Oil

Fixed

170

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521

In general, acetylene is used as the illuminant, where possible,
for a distance of about twenty miles from the entrance, and oil
from there to Wilmington. All acetylene lights are white, rear
lights being occulting every two seconds and front lights flash-
ing every second. All oil lights are fixed, rear lights white,
and front lights red.

Eight of the white range lights which could be suitably located
abreast of turns in the channel are provided with red sectors of
30 degrees covering these turns.

There have been no quarters provided, all lights being un-
watched. The change of illuminant in Bald Head Light,
which constitutes a unit of this system, makes quarters no longer
necessary in connection therewith. The entire group of lights
is cared for by two post light keepers, one resident near South-
port, close to the entrance, having charge of three oil and sixteen
gas lights, and one at Wilmington, at the other end of the
group of lights, having charge of fourteen oil lights. All gas
lights are so located that gas tanks can he landed from a launch
directly upon the structure, except at Bald Head Light.

These improvements in the lighting of the Cape Bear Biver
are being made under the Act of March 4, 1911, appropriating
$21,000, and the Act of August 26, 1912, appropriating
$30,000 additional. The total expenditures and obligations for
the thirty-three lights to September 30, 1913, is $50,076.30,
with a probable further expenditure of $500 for one additional
light, and $300 for clearing timber which partially obstructs
one range line.

Other aids supplementing the lighting aids mentioned above
are, Frying Pan Shoals Whistling Buoy, westward of the outer
end of the shoals; Cape Fear Entrance Whistling Buoy,1 about
two and one-half miles off the bar; Cape Fear Entrance Bell
Buoy, at the entrance to dredged channels, and thirty-three iron
buoys and five beacons marking turns and other critical points
in the dredged channels in the river. Two other iron buoys
mark the quarantine anchorage, and one marks a wreck on the
middle ground at the mouth of the river.

iNotice to mariners:

“On November 2, 1915, Cape Fear River Entrance Gas-and-Whistle
Buoy CF, painted in perpendicular stripes, was established in 6%
fathoms of water, in place of Cape Fear River Entrance Whistle Buoy
CF, which was discontinued. The gas-and-whistle buoy is cylindrical,
with skeleton superstructure, and shows a flashing white light of 390
candlepower every three seconds, thus, 0.3 seconds; eclipse 2.7 seconds,
16 feet above the water.”

522

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE COAST.

Between Cape Hatteras and Charleston, three dangerous
shoals extend seaward at right angles to the coast, namely,
Diamond Shoals, Lookout Shoals, and Frying Pan Shoals.
These shoals reach out from the shoreline to an average distance
of twenty miles, and have an average width of 1.5 miles. A
fourth shoal exists in the vicinity of Cape Romain, but of less
extent and of less dangerous character than any of those just
mentioned.

The prevailing winds on the North Carolina coast are from
the northeast around to southeast and southwest. The attend-
ant currents generally set directly on the three great shoals be-
tween Hatteras and Cape Fear, and it is in the vicinity of these
shoals that practically all the maritime disasters on the coast
of the Carolinas occur.

The treacherous currents along this stretch of coast are
largely responsible for the sweeping of vessels upon the shoals.
From Cape Lookout Bight to Frying Pan lightship, Capt. G.
L. Carden, commanding the Seminole , has usually found it
necessary to allow for at least five miles westerly set of current
on a run of eighty-nine miles. Below Frying Pan, there is
also a strong set into the bight, and this is especially noticeable
in the run from Cape Fear Bar to the entrance of Winyah
Bay.

According to Captain Carden, there is a safe rule for all
navigators to follow on this station ; that is, never get inside of
ten fathoms, unless sure of one’s position. The ten-fathom
curve will carry one clear of all the great shoals from Hatteras
to Romain. The same eminent authority said to the writer:
“A stranger approaching this section of the coast will, on find-
ing himself in thick weather inside of ten fathoms, do well to
let go an anchor at once.”

The end of Frying Pan Shoals is marked by our lightship,
Number 9J+, and the present position of this craft is most ad-
vantageous to vessels making for the Cape Fear Bar. It is a
fact that Cape Fear Light is not seen from the extreme end of
Frying Pan Shoals, and it is the end of the spit which masters
of ships are so anxious to determine. A gas buoy, 12 miles
SE. by E. E. off Frying Pan lightship, marks the end of
the broken ground. This gas buoy is a favorite mark for coast-

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523

ing vessels, and is also available for ships coming in from sea-
ward, but before shaping into the Cape Fear, safe navigation
demands that one should find the end of Frying Pan, and it is
this useful function which the present lightship serves. From
the Frying Pan lightship, two courses only are necessary, one
to clear the Knuckle Buoy, and a second course direct to the
Whistling Sea Buoy. Then from the sea buoy one has only
to run right down to the bell buoy marking the commence-
ment of the bar. Nowadays, crossing the Cape Fear Bar is a
very different matter from what it was under the ten to twelve
feet conditions of blockade-running days, when there were no
lights, nor buoys, nor any guide save the lead, the line of break-
ers, and possibly an outline of shore.

Wilmington’s approach from the sea is a magnificent thor-
oughfare, both across the two miles of bar and the twenty-seven
miles of river stretch inland. The channel across the bar is
well lighted and furnished with buoys. The prevailing winds
being from northward to northeast, the Frying Pan Shoals
and Cape Fear Spit protect the bar entrance during the major
part of bad weather, making it a better entrance than the for-
mer New Inlet Channel, which led past Fort Fisher.

To maintain the magnificent thoroughfare of two miles of
Cape Fear Bar, it is necessary for the engineers directing the
river and harbor improvement to keep a suction dredge con-
stantly employed upon the bar, as the currents are continually
sweeping the sandy bottom into the ship channel, thereby en-
dangering navigation, but as long as continued appropriations
are available for this important aid, the work can be done
effectively.

A project for the permanent maintenance of deep water by
stone jetties, similar to those employed on Charleston Bar, has
been discussed by our local Board of Commissioners of Naviga-
tion and Pilotage, and the matter has been taken up with the
United States Corps of Engineers.

The Frying Pan Shoals must be rounded before a vessel can
stand to the northward. The depth along the Frying Pan Spit
varies from 7 to 14 feet, and the shoals extend in an unbroken
line 10 miles south-southeast from Cape Fear. Following the
same general direction of the primal shoal are numerous patches
running out for a distance of 5% miles farther. The depth
over these patches varies from 10 to 24 feet. It is just beyond
these patches that the Frying Pan lightship is anchored, and

524

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

by keeping to seaward of the Frying Pan lightship, there will
be no depth of water encountered less than 3% fathoms; and
the patches can be avoided by deep-draft ships by shaping a
course which will carry them to the southward and eastward
of Frying Pan lightship until the position of the present lighted
bell buoy is reached. The 3% fathom patch referred to above
lies 9 miles east by south (mag.) of the Frying Pan lightship.
For deep-draft vessels the practice in running the coast is to
pass outside the gas buoy, but the practice on the Seminole ,
when coming from the northward, is to shape straight to the
Frying Pan lightship, making allowance for fully five miles
inset of current on a ninety-mile course.

In general terms, a stranger approaching the coast between
Hatter as and Frying Pan can determine his position by re-
course to the lead. The depths are very regular, and from 4
to 6 fathoms can be taken to within one mile of the beach.
The ten-fathom curve follows the curve of the coast at an aver-
age distance of eight miles from the shore until in the vicinity
of Cape Fear, and there it bends around Frying Pan.

There is a mighty carrying trade from north to south past
these dangerous shoals. Practically all steam craft to and
from the Gulf follow the coast, and this trade promises to be
greatly augmented since the opening of the Panama Canal.

The Seminole keeps eyes and ears open on that part of this
great thoroughfare which has been assigned to her, and night
and day trained wireless operators are listening for a call. At
the first call for help the cutter must start, and to be pre-
pared for emergency call at any hour, and for any stage of
weather, demands the constant attention of officers and crew.

The headquarters of the Seminole are at Wilmington, where
the Revenue-Cutter Service possesses its own wharf and store-
houses, and at this port the cutter is provisioned after each
cruise. The officers of the Seminole during the year 1912-13
were :

Captain Godfrey L. Carden, U. S. R. C. S.

First Lieutenant L. C. Covell, U. S. R. C. S.

Second Lieutenant L. T. Chalker, U. S. R. C. S.

Third Lieutenant T. S. Klinger, U. S. R. C. S.

Third Lieutenant C. H. Abel, U. S. R. C. S.

First Lieutenant Engineers R. B. Adams, U. S. R. C. S.

Second Lieutenant Engineers W. P. Prall, U. S. R. C. S.

Third Lieutenant Engineers C. C. Sugden, U. S. R. C. S.

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525

The wireless has contributed wonderfully to the effective-
ness of the patrol. The Seminole has picked up messages at
the first call from distressed craft, and long after the cutter
had started confirmations were being received via official
sources from land. It is not too much to say that ordinarily
the Seminole will pick up any distress call from a modern
wireless installation which may be sent out on her station.
What the Seminole may miss will in all probability he picked
up by either one of the United States powerful wireless stations
at Beaufort or Charleston, and the Seminole is always in touch
with one or the other of these two stations.

UNITED STATES RE VENUE-CUT TEE SERVICE.1

An important arm of great reach and efficiency is the admir-
able Revenue- Cutter Service on this station. At no time in
its history has this service been more effective in life-saving
and in the rescue of imperiled ships from imminent destruction
than during the past five years. Within the writer’s memory
more than a hundred vessels have been totally lost on or near
Cape Eear and many brave seamen went down with them; but
such is the equipment and efficiency of the cutter Seminole and
the professional skill and daring of her commander, his well-
tried officers and men, that valuable ships and crews, given up
for lost in the terrific winter gales of our dangerous coast, have
been drawn out of the teeth of the destructive elements and
restored to usefulness, and this without reward or the hope of
reward beyond the consciousness of duty done.

Repeated recognitions of rescue work have been made by
Lloyd’s and other important underwriters, and two services of
silver plate have been presented to the commander and officers
of the Seminole , and quite recently, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Treasury, a gymnasium has been presented,
by friends of this valuable service, to the crew of that vessel
as a mark of appreciation by shipowners and underwriters and
as a reward of distinguished merit.

The quality of mercy is not strained by the fine fellows who

Hn January, 1915, the United States Congress passed an act creating
the Coast Guard by combining the Revenue-Cutter Service and the
Life-Saving Service, and all duties previously performed by the two
latter services are now performed by the former, with equipment, offi-
cers, and administration suited to the combined activities of the two.

526

Chronicles of the Cape Fear Fiver

respond so quickly and eagerly to the S.O.S. wireless call for
help. An unwritten law compels them to succor a fellow sea-
man in distress even at the risk of their own destruction, and it
stirs the blood of all humanity to read of ships like the Semi-
nole, tossed upon a raging sea, yet standing by a sinking ship
until every man is rescued from the jaws of death.

During the past decade the President of the United States
has annually designated vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service
to patrol actively the Atlantic coast during the winter months
for the purpose of rendering aid to distressed merchant craft.
The patrol extends from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and has
numbered as many as ten cutters. Prom the first day of De-
cember of each year to the first day of April following, the
patrolling force is constantly cruising.

The littoral lying between Cape Hatteras and Charleston has
for several years constituted the station of the revenue-cutter
Seminole. Measured between lightships, or over the course
usually followed by coasting steamers, the distance between the
northern and southern extremities of this station is 270 nauti-
cal miles. This stretch of coast during the winter months is
noted for the disasters which occur to shipping. The Seminole's
record for the winter season of 1912-13 is typical. During the
four months from December 1, 1912, to April 1, 1913, the
cutter assisted, in all, nine craft, comprising both steamers and
sailing vessels, and representing a value of floating property of
$993,000, a cargo value of $573,000, or a total vessel-and-
cargo valuation of $1,566,000. A tenth vessel, the Savannah,
a dangerous derelict, was destroyed with a mine.

About six weeks before a recent season’s winter cruising com-
menced, the Seminole made a run of over 100 miles in a north-
east gale to the burning steamship Berkshire , of the Merchants
and Miner’s Line, took off the passengers, put out the fire, and
saved both vessel and cargo from total loss — representing for
cargo and vessel fully $500,000.

It may he asked why private wrecking craft are not available
to render some of the service performed by the cutters. The
fact is that they are not in evidence. Uor can private enter-
prise hope to cope with a government service in which there
is high esprit de corps such as characterizes the Revenue-Cutter
Service. Risks and hazards are cheerfully assumed by the
Revenue-Cutter Service, the sole object to be attained being
relief for the distressed and the performance of duty.

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527

CAPE FEAR LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.1

A public service which measures its efficiency by the num-
ber of human lives saved from the perils of the sea is to be
classed among the highest humanities of a great government.

Through the courtesy of its general superintendent, the
Hon. S. I. Kimball, I have obtained the following information
with particular reference to the Life-Saving Service in the
neighborhood of Cape Fear.

The equipment of the Cape Fear and Oak Island Stations,
which are located in the vicinity of Cape Fear, consists of
apparatus, including line-throwing guns, projectiles, lines, beach
lights, signaling devices, and power boats, as well as other
boats. The Cape Fear Station has a Beebe-McLellan self -bail-
ing surfboat, an open Beebe surfboat, and a Beebe-McLellan
self -bailing power surfboat, with horizontal engine; and the
Oak Island Station is equipped with a Beebe-McLellan self-
bailing surfboat and a 36-foot self-righting and self -bailing
power lifeboat. The Beebe-McLellan self-bailing power surf-
boat and the 36-foot self-righting and self -bailing power life-
boat are the latest developments in power life-saving boats, and
are as good as any in the world. A constant watch is kept from
the lookout towers of the stations and a beach patrol is main-
tained at night, and during the day when the weather is thick
or stormy.

The recent instances of service at wrecks by the Cape Fear
and Oak Island Life-Saving Stations have been as follows:

On December 8, 1912, the steamer Aloha , tonnage 42, value
$15,000, with four persons on board, was rendered assistance
by the Life-Saving Station at Oak Island; also on December
16, 1912, the schooner Dohemo, value $7,500, with two per-
sons on board, and in the same day, the launch Anerida II.,
value $1,700, with two persons on board, was saved.

On December 27, 1912, the schooner Savannah , tonnage 584,
value $44,000, which was a total loss, with nine persons on
board, and on March 26, 1913, the British steamer Strathardle ,
tonnage 4,377, value $120,000, with thirty-three persons on
board, were rendered assistance by the Life-Saving Stations at
Cape Fear and Oak Island.

On October 10, 1913, the schooner John Twohy , tonnage

iSee Note on Revenue-Cutter Service, page 525.

528

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

1,019, value $30,000, which was a total loss, with ten per-
sons on hoard, was rendered assistance by the Life-Saving Sta-
tion at Cape Fear.

The total value of property involved in the above disasters
was $218,200; the total value of property lost was $74,000,
and the total number of persons on hoard was sixty. No lives
were lost.

The rescue of the crew of the schooner Savannah , which was
stranded on the western edge of Frying Pan Shoals, is illustra-
tive of the value of this work. It is indicative of the service of
these stations.

On December 27, 1912, the 584-ton, four-masted schooner
Savannah , hound from Jacksonville, Florida, to Portland,
Maine, with a cargo of pine lumber, and carrying a crew of 9
men, all told, stranded about noon on the western edge of Fry-
ing Pan Shoals, in a westerly gale and thick weather. The
vessel and cargo, valued together at more than $40,000, were
totally lost. The ship’s crew, however, were saved by the crews
of the Cape Fear and Oak Island Stations.

As the schooner lay on the shoals, with the mountainous seas
dashing against her and over her, she was discovered by Keeper
Brinkman of the Cape Fear Station. To make sure that she
was aground the keeper climbed the tower of the Cape Fear
Light to get a look at her through a spyglass. On leaving the
tower he asked the lightkeeper to set a signal, which, according
to a previous understanding, would convey to the station crew
at Oak Island and to the revenue-cutter Seminole the informa-
tion that a vessel was in trouble offshore.

The Cape Fear crew put off the beach in their surf boat with-
out loss of time, and covered the eight miles to the schooner in
two and a half hours. The Oak Island crew also appeared
about the same time in their power lifeboat. It was agreed
that Keeper Brinkman should undertake the work of rescue,
a boat under oars being more readily and safely handled than
a power boat, in broken water about a wreck. This arrange-
ment was duly carried out, the Oak Island crew standing by,
ready to assist their comrades should the surfhoat meet with
misfortune while alongside. “After a hard battle with wind
and sea,” says Keeper Brinkman in his report, “we took the
captain and eight men off.”

The rescue accomplished, the sailors were transferred to the
power boat, which thereupon proceeded ashore with the surf-
hoat in tow.

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529

The ship’s crew were cared for at the Oak Island Station
until the following morning, when they were placed aboard the
Seminole , which had appeared off the station during the night.
The cutter and two tugs attempted to float the schooner, hut
without success.

The total approximate cost of maintaining the Cape Fear and
Oak Island Stations and for salaries during the fiscal year
which ended June 30, 1913, was $17,430, the expense being
about evenly divided between the two stations. The amounts
expended for salaries were $7,089.10 and $6,940.80 for the
Cape Fear and Oak Island Stations, respectively. The expense
for maintaining the stations averaged about $1,700 each dur-
ing the year. The cost of rebuilding the Cape Fear Station,
now under way, will amount to between four and five thousand
dollars.

USE OF OIL TO PREVENT BREAKING SEAS.

About the year 1870 the late Alexander Sprunt, founder
of the firm of Alexander Sprunt & Son, demonstrated in a
magazine article published abroad the efficacy of the use of
oil at sea in stormy weather. Fie subsequently endeavored to
induce the British Admiralty to provide every ship with his
simple device for protection against breaking seas while lying
to, and received some recognition.

At that time, in the winter, he loaded a small brig of about
two hundred tons register with a heavy cargo of naval stores
for Europe. The captain was induced to provide a barrel of
crude oil, two canvas bags perforated with a large needle, and
a twenty-foot spar with block and tackle, to be used in case of
need. On his return to Wilmington some months later, he
gratefully acknowledged that his ship and crew had been provi-
dentially saved from destruction by this simple and effective
provision.

He was obliged to lay to for several days in a hurricane.
The heavy waves smashed the boats and threatened to destroy
the vessel. He thought of the oil and at once applied it. Run-
ning the spar out on the weather side, he filled the bags with
oil and hauled them out to the end of the spar. Immediately
a thin covering of oil spread over the advancing waves and,
although the brig rose and fell upon the mountainous seas, the
water did not break, and the little vessel rode out the gale in
safety.

530

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

In the Hydrographic Bulletin of the United States Navy,
December 31, 1913, the following reference is made to the use
of oil to calm seas :

ef Imperial Transport (Br. ss.), Capt. E. R. Frankland:

“On November 25, 1913, during the voyage from Narvik
toward Philadelphia, a hurricane struck the vessel from the
southwest, gradually shifting to the westward. The hurricane
was of such force that it was found impossible to steam against
it. The engines, therefore, were stopped, and the vessel, losing
headway, fell off beam-on to the sea. During this operation oil
was used plentifully, several pints being thrown on the deck,
and the same washing overboard to windward smoothed the
tops of the seas, thus stopping them to a great extent from
breaking on hoard. When the vessel was drifting, two oil-bags
were hung overboard to windward, one at each end of the bridge
deck, each bag being attached to fifteen fathoms of line, this
usage greatly assisting in arresting the force of the seas. One
oil-hag was hung in the forward lavatory at the break of the
forecastle head, and the flush left open, the oil thus coming in
contact with the sea without being blown to leeward. The
same operation was repeated in the lavatory amidships. A
hand was stationed in each of these places replenishing the oil-
bags. During the y squalls a little oil was also poured down
the pipes from a can. The seas, although breaking heavily to
windward, had the force taken out of them when coming in
contact with this second distribution of oil. We subsequently
encountered seven hurricanes, and oil was used in the same
manner and with the same effect. The oils used were fish,
colza, engine, and linseed, and no apparent difference in effect
was noticed. All of the hurricanes started from the south and
veered to north through west, and then hacked from north to
south through west. The same was experienced in the storms
of lesser violence. At no time during the passage was the wind
from the eastward unless at the beginning of the storm, when
sometimes it was SSE. I might add that the vessel came
through with the minimum of damage, considering the terrific
weather encountered.”

A more recent test of this device was made by the revenue-
cutter Seminole. In reply to my inquiry, Capt. G. L. Carden
says, under date of January 11, 1914:

“I am attaching herewith a memorandum relative to the use
of oil by the Seminole when working on the schooner Thomas

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531

Winsmore. As a further proof of the efficacy of oil, I had
occasion during the month of October, 1910, when command-
ing the Manning in the Pacific, to have recourse to it. We
had left Kodiak Island for a run across to the Alaska coast,
shaping for Cape Ommaney. It had been blowing a gale of
wind for three days from the northwest and, not long after
clearing the lee of Kodiak, I encountered a tremendous sea.
Nothing like it had been seen during the entire past five months
in the far North. The Manning was put before the seas, but
it seemed as if every moment they must break aboard. In the
mouths of the forward closet howls, on either side of the how,
canvas hags filled with oakum were placed. The bags were
punctured with ordinary sail needles, and a plentiful supply of
fish oil was poured into the oakum-filled hags. The closet traps
were then raised and very soon a thin film of oil was seen to
reach out on either side of the ship for a distance of about ten
feet, spreading out fan-tail fashion as it worked aft. At a
distance of twenty feet abaft the stern, I should say, the width
of the oil space was fully fifty feet. The effect was marvelous.
The big seas would come up right to the edge of the oilfield
and then dive under the ship and pass away forward. The
film of oil alongside kept the seas from slapping aboard. I ran
the Manning very slowly throughout the greater part of the
night, but towards morning the wind and sea abated and we
were able to head up on our regular course. During the entire
night I do not believe we used over ten gallons of oil.’7

“Memorandum: — The American schooner Thomas Winsmore
was found at 7.30 a. m., January 4, 1914, close to the breakers
on Lookout Shoals. The Seminole at the time was in charge
of First Lieut. Eben Barker. A fresh westerly gale was blow-
ing. The Thomas Winsmore was displaying her ensign union
down. The seas were breaking completely over the schooner.
The Seminole anchored to windward of the Winsmore, veering
down chain so as to bring the cutter near the schooner. Efforts
to shoot a line aboard by means of a line-firing gun proved
abortive. Oil was used freely through the closets forward.
The oil formed a slick astern of the Seminole and prevented the
seas from breaking. After a plentiful use of the oil, a pulling
boat was lowered and a four-inch line was run to the Winsmore.
By means of the four-inch line a ten-inch hawser was later
gotten aboard the distressed craft. The Winsmore was then
towed into the lee of Lookout Bight.77

532

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

VISITS OF THE CRUISER RALEIGH TO THE
CAPE FEAR.

Soon after the United States steamship Raleigh went into
commission, in 1895, she came into the Cape Fear River to
receive a service of silver, which was presented to her on be-
half of the State by the Hon. Elias Carr, then governor of
North Carolina.

Later, after our war with Spain, about the first of May,
1899, the Raleigh , returning from the Philippines, commanded
by Captain Coghlan, again visited the Cape Fear for the
purpose of delivering to the city of Raleigh some trophies of
war, including several Spanish cannon, which were formally
received by a delegation sent from Raleigh on behalf of the
State of North Carolina.

The cruiser and her officers and men were honored by an
enthuiastic welcome to Wilmington, and Captain Coghlan was
deeply touched by his cordial reception. The Raleigh , under
the command of Captain Coghlan, had joined in the attack
upon the Spanish forts and war vessels in Manila Bay, and our
people, desiring to mark this incident by a special compliment,
presented another very handsome and valuable service of silver
plate to Captain Coghlan and the ship. Mr. William Calder
made the presentation speech, and the commander responded
in a felicitous address which was long remembered by those
who were present.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IMPROVEMENTS ON
UPPER CAPE FEAR RIVER.

The present project for the improvement of the upper Cape
Fear River was adopted by Congress in the River and Harbor
Act of June 25, 1910. This project contemplates an improve-
ment by canalization and dredging to obtain a navigable depth
of water between Wilmington and Fayetteville, a distance of
115 miles, of eight feet. To accomplish this it is planned to
put in two locks and dams. - The first lock and dam, known as
“Lock and Dam No. 1,” is under construction at King’s Bluff,
39 miles above Wilmington ; and the second, or “Lock and Dam
No. 2,” is to he located at Brown’s Landing, near Elizabeth-

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533

town, 72 miles above Wilmington. The 8-foot channel between
Wilmington and King’s Bluff has already been obtained by
dredging, and it is only necessary now to maintain it. The
locks will be of concrete, with pile foundations and steel-miter-
ing gates. The lock at King’s Bluff will be about 294 feet long
over all, with a maximum width at the base of about 84 feet.
The walls will be 28 feet high, and the chamber will take vessels
about 200 feet long and 40 feet wide. The dam will be of the
timber-crib type filled with stone, with sheet-piling above and
below. It will be about 275 feet long and 50 feet wide, and
will raise the water eight feet above that in the lower part of
the river. The abutment for the dam on the side of the river
opposite the lock will be of reinforced concrete pile construc-
tion, and will have the same height as the lock walls. As the
dam is low, in comparison with the river banks, it will be sub-
merged, and its effect as an obstruction in the river will dis-
appear by the time the river rises to the top of the bank, so
that the area of land covered by water during flood times will
be practically the same after the dam is put in as it is now.
As the lock walls are much higher than the dam, vessels may
use the lock during a considerable rise in the river, and when
the river drowns out the lock, there will be no fall over the dam
and vessels will pass directly over it.

The cofferdam is constructed of steel interlocking piling made
by the Lackawanna Steel Company, and is of the same general
type as was used in the cofferdam for raising the battleship
Maine. The piling is 45 feet long, and was driven through
from 23 to 28 feet of compact sand and thin layers of rock.
This piling is anchored back by heavy steel wire cables to pile
anchorages 52 feet from the wall. In addition to the above
work on the cofferdam, the dredging inside of the cofferdam and
of the approaches has been completed. This dredging involved
the removal of 33,000 cubic yards of material. Inside the
cofferdam a level bottom was secured about 18 feet below water.
Driving the foundation piles is now in progress ; this requires
the driving of 1,850 piles with a penetration of about 23 feet.
When it is completed, concrete will be deposited around the
heads of the piles, the cofferdam will be pumped out, and the
lock walls built in the dry. Work on the abutment will be
started shortly and carried on simultaneously with the construc-
tion of the lock, and as soon as these are completed the dam will
be built in place.

534

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

The same general type of construction is being used for Lock
and Dam No. 2, at Brown’s Landing as at King’s Bluff. Here,
however, the dam will raise the water 12 feet above the level of
the water between King’s Bluff and Brown’s Landing, thus
requiring heavier construction throughout.

This work is being rapidly prosecuted and its completion in
1917 is dependent only upon sufficient congressional appropria-
tions and favorable stages of water for sinking the dams. The
amount expended on locks and dams to June 30, 1915, was
$647,635.79; on other improvements, $183,654.10.

The advantages to be derived from this improvement are
obvious and are those which would naturally result from certain
all-the-year-round navigation with 8-foot navigable depth. It
will benefit the cities of Wilmington and Fayetteville, at the
two ends of the improved channel, in a commercial way, acting
as it will as a steady and increasing feeder to their business
activities. In addition to this, not the least important result
will be that this stream, with its cheap transportation facilities
close at hand, will act as a constant incentive to the development
of the agricultural resources of the country through which it
flows.

Disastrous fires.

The following account of a great conflagration on the night of
April 30, 1864, taken from the Daily Journal, is of particular in-
terest, as it gives us a glimpse of the city during the war — the
value of cotton, $1,000 a bale; the interest of the Confederate
Government, of the State of Virginia, and of the blockade runners
in cotton, and the quantities stored in Wilmington, with other
details of the war.

“Yesterday morning at 20 minutes to one o’clock,” says the
Journal , “a fire broke out in a warehouse or shed on the west-
ern side of the river, some 200 feet south of the ferry, which is
opposite to the Market Dock. From this point it spread with
amazing rapidity, and in an inconceivably short space of time,
every building on the western - side of the river south of the
depot of the Wilmington and Manchester Bailroad was envel-
oped in flames.

“When we arrived at the dock the whole western bank of the
river for several squares was one line of flame, and it was feared
that the railroad depot, with the workshops of the company,

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535

would also be destroyed. The destruction of property is very
great. We sum it as nearly as possible as follows :

“The Confederate Government lost 800 bales of cotton
burned, of which about 200 bales were Sea Island, say
$800,000. It lost, also, in materials and work in progress at
Beery’s ship-yard, about $100,000. T. Andrea lost 2,500 bales
of cotton, 300 of it Sea Island, say $2,430,000. The Nash-
ville and Chattanooga Railroad Company lost 187 bales ; J. W.
Thomas, thirty-seven bales, say $200,000. In Captain Hallet’s
sheds there were 850 bales of cotton, forty-seven of it Sea
Island, belonging to the State of Virginia and sundry other par-
ties. Also, rope and bagging to the amount of $100,000. All
burned. Loss, about $900,000. Rankin and Martin’s Rosin
Oil Works, about $70,000. Insurance to the amount of $7,000.
B. Hallet’s loss in shed, about $25,000. Insurance, $3,000.
The Southern Express Company lost two cars with merchan-
dise, also some merchandise in a small warehouse. Loss, about
$100,000. John A. Taylor, shed, etc., at ferry, $10,000. The
damage to the machinery and tools at B. W. & W. L. Beery’s
ship-yard is comparatively light. Most of the workmen’s tools
were saved. They expect to be able to resume work in about
three weeks. The sheds and sawmill machinery in rear of ship-
yard is the principal loss. Estimated loss, $25,000. The Wil-
mington & Manchester Railroad Company lost the small
wooden building in which the president, treasurer, and superin-
tendent had their offices. All the contents were saved. The
building was of little value. The chief loss of railroad prop-
erty was twenty-five freight cars, fifteen of them belonging to
the Georgia Central Road, eight to the Wilmington and Man-
chester Road, and two to the Southern Express Company.
Total loss in cars, $150,000.

“Thus far we have a summing up of about $4,800,000, but
this does not include the injury to a quarter of a mile of wharf -
ing, mainly ruined, nor the loss of the sheds and buildings be-
longing to the Confederate Government and to the other par-
ties, nor the injury to the cotton-press. These and other things
not necessary to mention can hardly be estimated at the present
time, since it may be impossible to replace them and difficult to
do without them. We are happy, indeed, to learn that the
cotton-press itself is expected to be in operation again in a
short time. It is probable that, when the whole loss is known,
and the wharves, buildings, etc., have been included, it will fall
little, if anything, short of six millions of dollars.

536

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“The usual doubts are expressed as to whether this tremen-
dous fire was accidental or the result of incendiarism. It may
have been either. We have not been able to discover anything
that will warrant us in saying that it was the one or the other,
if we except the astonishing rapidity of its spread, which does
look as though it were too rapid to be merely accidental, and
gives rise to suspicions of foul play, although the combustibility
of the materials the fire had to work upon could hardly have
been increased. We doubt whether any human power could have
arrested the progress of the fire when it had once gotten under
way, still we could not but remark upon the fact that even if
the fire had been within reach of control by the exertions of the
fire department, there was no fire department to he found by
which such exertions could he made. This struck us the more
forcibly because of our having noticed the activity and zeal of
the firemen on several occasions during the present year — we
had seen that they were practicing with their engines, and we
know that the town authorities had been making exertions to
increase the efficiency of the department and to have its appa-
ratus put in the best order. We believe they succeeded in
accomplishing both these objects. We inquired why the present
state of things exists, and were told that the white companies
are on duty as Home Guards and that the colored companies,
mustering 180 men in all, mainly free negroes, have had their
members either impressed or scared off by the fear of impress-
ment. Whether incendiaries are abroad or not, we shudder at
the thought of a fire breaking out in the closely built part of the
town, filled as every place seems to he with cotton — cotton is
our next door neighbor — cotton is everywhere.”

On Saturday night, April 11, 1880, a store building on Front
Street, between Market and Dock Streets, occupied by George
A. Peck, was burned. During this fire a volunteer fireman
named William Ellerbrook entered the building, followed by his
dog, a large Newfoundland. After the fire was over, his body
was found crushed by the walls and timbers of the building, and
by his side was found the body of the faithful dog. The dog
had hold of his master’s coat and was evidently trying to drag
him out of danger when the crash came. Man and beast were
buried together in Oakdale Cemetery, and a stone was erected
by the volunteer fire company, of which Ellerbrook was a mem-
ber, and by his friends.

About 1880 fire was discovered at Colville & Taylor’s saw-

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537

mill, at the foot of Walnut Street. The fire bell rang about
twelve o’clock Friday night, and the fire companies were dis-
missed at six o’clock Sunday afternoon, hut while the sawmill
was destroyed, a large part of the lumber was saved. The
Champion Compress, near by, was saved after a hard fight.

In the early part of 1886 a Fayetteville steamboat, while
drifting down the river, caught fire. Her tiller ropes burned in
two and she landed at the Clyde Steamship wharf, which is now
used by the Springer Coal Company. From this wharf the fire
started about two o’clock, February 25, 1886, and swept up to
the Champion Compress and destroyed that and the Atlantic
Coast Line warehouses; burned the Methodist Church, on the
corner of Front and Walnut Streets, and everything on that
block except the Methodist parsonage. Everything on the block
west of that was also destroyed. The fire crossed Fed Cross
Street and burned Mr. Henry Butt’s handsome residence, and
sparks jumped to Brooklyn, where several frame houses were
burned. The fire department was dismissed the next day, and
the military placed in charge to keep thieves from looting every-
thing that had been put in the street.

Fire Companies.

The first Wilmington fire company was organized in 1847
and chartered in 1867, under the name of the Wilmington Hook
and Ladder Company. In 1857 the Howard Belief Fire En-
gine Company was organized and was chartered two years later.
The third company was chartered in 1869, and called the Wil-
mington Steam Fire Engine Company.

On the evening of the 1st of February, 1869, a very fierce
and destructive fire occurred in Grant’s public stables on the
southwest corner of Princess and Third Streets. The Wilming-
ton Hook and Ladder Company, of which Col. Boger Moore was
chief, rendered excellent service by tearing down the connecting
buildings, thus arresting the progress of the fire towards struc-
tures of greater importance. Unhappily, however, several mem-
bers of the company who ventured too far were caught under the
falling walls. In this accident Mr. John T. Bankin suffered in-
juries which it was feared would he fatal. He recovered slowly,
however, hut with a permanent lameness. Shortly after this
fire, and during the convalescence of Captain Bankin, the first
steam fire engine used in Wilmington was purchased by popu-

538

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

lar subscription and named “John T. Rankin.” This belonged
to the Wilmington Steam Tire Engine Company. All of these
companies were volunteer organizations, and the apparatus for
each was purchased and maintained by subscriptions from the
business men of the city and by the dues of the members.

In addition to the above named volunteer companies, there
was a fire company composed entirely of negroes, and about
1870, with the assistance of the city, it was furnished with a
steam fire engine. This company, from its inception, was sup-
ported almost entirely by the city ; it was a very good company,
and did splendid work under the command of Valentine Howe,
who was an exceptionally fine negro.

About 1878 the first appropriation was made by the city for
the support of these companies, and this was gradually in-
creased until 1898, when the city took over the property of the
entire fire department, since which time it has been under the
efficient leadership of Chief Schnibben.

THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1886.

On the 31st of August, 1886, I was a passenger in mid-ocean
on the Cunard steamer Etruria , bound from Liverpool to Hew
York, in company with the Hon. William A. Courtenay, who
was then mayor of Charleston. These were the days before the
Marconi wireless system of communication with vessels at sea,
and we had no thought of the fearful earthquake of that date
which shook Wilmington to its foundations and nearly de-
stroyed the city of Charleston.

At the quarantine station in Hew York Harbor we were
handed several telegrams, and, looking up in dismay from the
reading of one addressed to me, I saw that Mr. Courtenay had
suddenly vanished without a word. Panic-stricken by the terri-
fying news, he had hurried ashore to catch the first train to
Charleston.

On my arrival at Masonboro Sound, where my family was
residing, I heard with great thankfulness that my household
had escaped injury. My wife had retired early with the two
children, and she was awakened by the upheaval of the bed
and the falling of glassware from the mantel. Terrified by the
thought that the door would be jammed by the twisting frame-
work, she pulled it open with desperate effort and, with a child

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539

under each arm, ran to the open ground, on which were soon as-
sembled neighbors and servants in a panic, intensified by the
screams of the horses confined in the stables and by the loud
lamentations of the negroes, who thought the day of judgment
had come.

Several days later our office building was so greatly shaken
by a second earthquake that we quickly sought safety in the
street.

The newspapers of the day made the following references to
this exciting episode.

The Morning Star of Wednesday, September 1, 1886, in its
account of the earthquake, reported that “It was exactly ten
minutes to ten o’clock p. m. when the first shock occurred. It
lasted about thirty seconds and was accompanied by a long rum-
bling sound, like the passage of a railway train over a bridge.
The river seemed to be violently agitated, and washed against
its hanks as if a storm were raging. The first shock was followed
ten minutes afterwards by a second shock, and this by a third
ten minutes later, neither of them of as great severity as the
first. It is impossible to describe the alarm that pervaded the
community. People thronged the streets and many of them were
greatly agitated. A great crowd centered around the telegraph
office, anxiously inquiring as to news from other places.

“As far as known, the damage caused by the shock was slight.
Plastering was dislodged and fell in the Commercial Hotel and
other houses, and bricks were shaken from chimneys and from
the walls of buildings in the process of erection, among the num-
ber the chimney of a house on the corner of Second and Prin-
cess Streets.”

The shock was quite severe at other places. At Smithville the
Signal-Service observer reported as follows: “A severe earth-
quake shock felt here at 9.50 p. m., lasted about ten seconds,
came from northwest. Ten minutes after the first shock an-
other came from the west, lasting about three seconds.”

The Star mentioned the wide extent of territory in which the
earthquake made itself evident, with varying degrees of vio-
lence, as far north as Hew York and west to Chicago. The dis-
turbance was greatest at Charleston, and at Laurinhurg also the
shock was extremely severe.

The Daily News had a very graphic account of the earth-
quake, and enlarged upon the terror and awe of the occasion,
hut differed slightly from the Star in a few comments. The

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

first and most violent shock was claimed to have lasted forty-
five seconds, followed by two more at short intervals, and others
at one o’clock, four o’clock, and eight-thirty the next morning
(September 1). The Review of September 2, 1886, reported
shocks after the above, occurring at 5.12 p. m. and about mid-
night of the 1st of September.

The terrible disaster to Charleston cast a deep gloom over our
citizens, and generous assistance was immediately organized in
the form of a contribution, and a relief committee composed of
a number of prominent people was dispatched to the stricken
city as soon as the journey could be made.

THE VISIT OF PRESIDENT TAFT.

BY iREDELIi MeARES.

William Howard Taft, the twenty-seventh President of the
United States, visited Wilmington on the 9th day of November,
1909. The occasion was a notable one in the annals of the city.
The Governor of the State, with his staff officers, United States
Senators and Congressmen, the representative editors of the
State press, and a large concourse of visitors from all parts of
the State did honor to the occasion. The city was beautifully
decorated. The day was ideal in its sunshine and balmy air.
The spirit of the people who crowded the streets was splendid.
Not an incident occurred to mar the great reception.

On his arrival on the early morning train, the executive com-
mittee of the citizens’ organization escorted the President and
his suite in automobiles from the depot to the elegant residence
of Mr. James Sprunt, where a breakfast was given in honor
of the President by that hospitable gentleman and his wife.
The home was tastefully and appropriately decorated. The
approaches to it were guarded by the United States Coast Artil-
lery from Fort Caswell, the band of which, during the break-
fast, played patriotic airs. Breakfast was served in the con-
servatory, which had been transformed into an arbor of green
foliage, with vines trailing overhead, from which hung clusters
of real grapes. The hostess served a breakfast prepared in the
old-fashioned Southern style. There were seated at the table
fifty-two guests. On the right of Mr. Sprunt, the host, sat the
President, and on his left, Hon. W. W. Kitchin, governor of
the State ; on the right of the President, United States Senator

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541

Lee S. Overman was seated. Others of the distinguished guests
were Gen. J. F. Armfield, the adjutant general of the State, and
members of the Governor’s staff; Capt. Archibald B. Butt,
United States Army, who afterwards lost his life in the wreck
of the Titanic ; Dr. J. J. Richardson, a prominent throat and
ear specialist of Washington, D. C., physician to the President;
Lieutenant Whitney, of the United States revenue-cutter Sem-
inole, and Captain Hancock, of the United States Coast Artil-
lery; Representatives John H. Small, R. 1ST. Page, Charles R.
Thomas, and H. L. Godwin, all members of the United States
Congress; and Hon. Walter G. MacRae, mayor of the city.
The rest of the party consisted of the Citizens’ Executive and
Reception Committees.

After breakfast, the presidential party was conveyed under
the escort of the local military and the Naval Reserves to the
corner of Market and Third Streets, where all the school chil-
dren of the county of Hew Hanover were assembled in a most
beautiful flag formation, and as the President, with bared head,
witnessed the scene, they sang the national anthem. He was
then driven to St. Stephen’s Church, where he reviewed the
colored school children of the county, and made them a short
address. Next, he was escorted to. the United States revenue-
cutter Seminole for a cruise down the Cape Fear as far as
Southport. Accompanying him on the trip were the Governor
and his military staff, the Senator and Congressmen men-
tioned, Mr. H. C. McQueen, chairman of the Citizens’ Execu-
tive Committee, the late Hon. Alfred M. Waddell, ex-member
of Congress, and a large number of representative editors of the
State press and citizens of Wilmington. Luncheon was served
on the boat, and the President held an informal levee.

On the return, the Seminole was met at the Dram Tree, the
entrance to the harbor, by all the river craft and steamers in
port, with colors flying, and, formed in parade line, the pictur-
esque fleet preceded the Seminole to the dock. On landing, a
procession was formed consisting of the United States Coast Ar-
tillery, detachments from the revenue cutter, and companies of
the State Guard and Naval Reserves, including a detachment
of Confederate veterans and some twenty-odd different organi-
zations of the city. The President was then escorted to the City
Hall, where from a platform he reviewed the military parade
of Federal and State troops and the citizens’ organizations. He
was introduced to the vast audience, estimated from fifteen to

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

twenty thousand people, by Governor Kitchin in cordial and
spirited remarks, and delivered a notable address to the people.
After a rest in the afternoon, a banquet was served to the Presi-
dent in the Masonic Temple, at which representative citizens of
the city and State were present. The menu was prepared and
served under the immediate supervision of the Ladies’ Commit-
tee and in all respects could not have been excelled. The Presi-
dent made a short address after the dinner, and then repaired
to bis private car at the depot and proceeded to Richmond, at
which place he ended the tour he had made of the Western and
Southern States.

On the same evening at the Chamber of Commerce, there was
given a “smoker” to visiting members of the press, at which
many fine and eloquent speeches were made, and this consti-
tuted one of the conspicuous entertainments of the occasion.
The local papers of the city and State printed elaborate accounts
of the reception and illustrated cuts of the scenes which fea-
tured the doings of the day.

WOODROW WILSON’S YOUTH IN WILMINGTON.1

In the autumn of 1878, when Woodrow Wilson was just
reaching his seventeenth year, and while his parents were re-
siding at Columbia, he entered Davidson College. After finish-
ing his examinations at the end of the first year, however, he
fell ill and was taken to his home, then in Wilmington, his
father having just been called to the pastorate of the Presby-
terian Church of that city. He remained in Wilmington
throughout the year 1874-75. It had been determined that he
should go to Princeton, and he spent the year being tutored in
Greek and a few other studies which it was thought might be
necessary for entrance to Princeton.

In truth, there was a good deal of play done that year, too.
The hoy had grown too fast, and was hardly fit for the rigid
schedule of college. So he “took it easy” in a city, the first
in which he had ever lived that possessed any particular local
charm. Wilmington was an old historic place. It was a sea-
port; for the first time Woodrow saw a ship and caught the
smell of the sea. Foreign shipping floated in the noble river

iBased on Hale’s Life of Woodrow Wilson.

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543

or lay at the docks. Wilmington was a great depot for naval
stores; its lower streets were redolent of the deep. Talk also
was still full of adventures of the blockade runners of the war
lately ended. What imaginative youth from the interior but
would have haunted the docks and made an occasional trip down
to the cape, to return with the pilot of an outgoing ship ? Here,
too, for the first time, the young man began to take part in the
social life which is so important an element of existence in the
South. He was really too young for the associations into which
he was now thrown. Hr. and Mrs. Wilson immediately achiev-
ing devoted popularity, the manse swiftly becoming a social
rendezvous of the city — a city of gentlemen of good company
and women who would have been esteemed brilliant the world
over. It was a young man very different from the raw youth
of Davidson who, one day in September, 1815, took the Wil-
mington and Weldon train for the North.

During his senior year at Princeton he concluded that the
best path to a public career lay through the law. In the autumn,
therefore, he matriculated in the law department of the Univer-
sity of Virginia, that seat of liberal learning organized by
Thomas Jefferson.

Just before Christmas, 1880, he returned to Wilmington, and
devoted himself to reading law and otherwise preparing himself
for the practice of his chosen profession. It was not till May,
1882, that he finally determined where to locate, and then he
opened an office in Atlanta. His father continued to reside in
Wilmington until April, 1885, when he accepted the position of
professor of theology in the Southwestern University, at Clarks-
ville, Tennessee. In the fall of 1898, Dr. Wilson made Wil-
mington his winter home until his death, January 21, 1903.
In 1905 a tablet was unveiled in the Presbyterian Church as a
memorial to “Rev. Joseph R. Wilson, D.D., Paithful and Be-
loved Pastor of This Church.7’

SOUTHPORT ON THE CAPE PEAR.

This charming little town at the mouth of the Cape Pear
River was known in colonial days as Fort Johnston. It was a
mere hamlet then, and its only importance pertained to the gar-
rison of a fort, which mounted twenty-four cannon, named in
honor of Gabriel Johnston, colonial governor. In 1792 it was

544

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

laid of! as a town, and called Smithville, in honor of Governor
Benjamin Smith, and it retained that name until 1887 when it
began to he called Southport. Southport has been the home of
most of the Cape Bear pilots for nearly a hundred years. Its
salubrious climate and kindly inhabitants make it one of the
most attractive and wholesome winter and summer resorts in
our country. Its harbor is spacious and its deep water would
float the largest battleship of our navy. Its possible importance
as a coaling station for steamers from the south outward bound,
and its prospective usefulness to the Panama-Canal traffic in
that respect, is attracting attention to it as a convenient port
of call.

Of this interesting town our venerable ex-president of the
University of North Carolina, Hon. Kemp P. Battle, has said:

“Near the mouth of the beautiful Cape Fear Biver, on its
right hank, is a pleasant little town. It is fanned by the deli-
cious sea breezes ; huge live oaks gracefully shade its streets. In
its somber cemetery repose the bodies of many excellent people.
Its harbor is good. It is on the main channel of the river.
From its wharves can he seen not far away the thin white line
of waves as they break on the sandy beach. But the ships to
and from its neighbor, Wilmington, pay little tribute as they
pass and repass. Xts chief fame is that it contains the court-
house of the county of Brunswick. Its name is Smithville.

“Opposite the good old town is a desert island composed of
undulating sand-hills, with here and there occasional green flats
and dwarfed pines to relieve the general monotony. It is ex-
posed to the full fury of the Atlantic storms. New Inlet once
poured a rapid stream between the island and the mainland.
But daring and industrious man now seeks to force by walls of
stone the impetuous floods through the river channel to the west,
to float larger ships up the river to the port of Wilmington. Its
southern end forms the dangerous cape which Mr. George Davis
so eloquently describes.

“The University of North Carolina has amid its group of
buildings one in its shape and portico and columns imitating a
Greek temple. Its basement was until recently the home of the
State Agricultural Experiment Station, which has done so much
to protect our farmers from fraud, hut now it is the laboratory
of the professor of chemistry. Above is a long and lofty room
containing the library of the University. On its shelves are
many ancient hooks of great value, hut vacant spaces plead

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545

piteously for new books in all the departments of literature and
science. The name of this building is ‘Smith Hall.’

“What member of the widely spread family of Smith has
thus given his familiar name to a county town, an island, and a
university hall? His Christian name was Benjamin. He was
an active officer of the Revolution, a governor of our State, and
the first benefactor of the State University.

“Governor Smith had many vicissitudes of fortune. In his
youth he was aide-de-camp to Washington in the dangerous but
masterly retreat from Long Island after the defeat of the Amer-
ican forces. He behaved with conspicuous gallantry in the bril-
liant action in which Moultrie drove the British from Port
Royal Island and checked for a time the invasion of South Caro-
lina. A Charleston paper of 1794 says: ‘He gave on many occa-
sions such various proofs of activity and distinguished bravery
as to merit the approbation of his impartial country.’ After
the strong Union superseded the nerveless Continental Confed-
eration, when there was danger of war with Prance or England,
he was made general of militia, and when later, on account of
the insults and injuries of Prance, our government made prepa-
rations for active hostilities, the entire militia of Brunswick
County, officers and men, roused to enthusiasm by an address
from him full of energy and fire, volunteered to follow his lead
in the legionary corps raised for service against the enemy. The
confidence of his countrymen in his wisdom and integrity was
shown by their electing him fifteen times to the Senate of the
State. Prom this post he was chosen by the General Assembly
as our chief executive in 1810, when war with England was con-
stantly expected, and by large numbers earnestly desired.

“The charter of the University was granted in 1789. The
trustees were the great men of that day — the leaders in war
and peace. Of this band of eminent men Benjamin Smith was
a worthy member. He is entitled to the signal honor of being
the first benefactor of the infant institution, the leader of the
small corps of liberal supporters of education in PTorth Caro-
lina. Por that reason alone his name should be revered by all
the long line of students who call the University their Alma
Mater and by every one who desires the enlightenment of our
people.”

The communication between Southport and Wilmington in
olden times was by a sloop which carried passengers and prob-
ably the United States mails. The daily schedule was protected

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

by the saving phrase “wind and weather permitting.” Within
the memory of our citizens in middle life, not to say of old age,
the daily steamers to and from Charleston, already referred to,
afforded the passengers at Smithville and Wilmington, and also
the planters along the river, who hoarded them from small
boats, comfortable and speedy service. Later, on the completion
of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, the steamer Spray
plied regularly; but none of these conveyances was more satis-
factory to the general public than the steamer Wilmington ,
owned and commanded by Capt. John W. Harper, who, after
many years of excellent service, still controls and regulates the
river trade and traffic.

The new railroad between Wilmington and Southport, called
the Wilmington, Brunswick, and Southport Railroad, runs a
daily passenger, mail, and freight schedule between Southport
and Havassa, where it connects with the Atlantic Coast Line
and the Seaboard Air Line Railroads for Wilmington or for
other points on these trunk lines.

The railroad is thirty miles long, and was completed in 1911.
The capital stock is $165,000. Its officers are: President,

M. J. Corbett; vice president, H. C. McQueen; general man-
ager, M. W. Divine, and traffic manager, H. E. Godwin.

In view of the opening of the Panama Canal and of the mani-
fest destiny that the United States will have closer commercial
relations with the countries of South America, whose develop-
ment is now progressing with such rapid strides, the admirable
location of Southport for a government coaling station is appar-
ent, and it will surely become a commercial entrepot of impor-
tance. Business is quick to avail itself of superior advantages,
and the facilities offered by Southport are unrivaled. Its land-
locked harbor, ranging from thirty-five to forty-nine feet in
depth, and five miles long, with a width varying from one-
quarter to three-quarters of a mile, affords a commodious and
secure anchorage for the fleets of commerce and the navies of
war, while the frowning ramparts of Fort Caswell assure ample
military protection. Its bar is almost perfectly protected from
the heaviest gales; for twenty-five years the hurricane signals
have been hoisted at Southport only twice, and no hurricane
wave can possibly enter the port. Safety of all shipping is
thus assured.

While possessing these advantages, Southport enjoys the dis-
tinction of being on the direct line between the vast coal fields of

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547

the interior and the points where the coal will be wanted —
Colon and Guantanamo Bay. It is as near Panama as Charles-
ton, and, being south of Hatteras, has evident advantages over
Norfolk. No other Atlantic port is so near to the ports of the
Caribbean Sea or to the ports on the east coast of South Amer-
ica. Its climate is remarkably fine ; it has a constant sea breeze
and fogs are almost unknown. Its temperature is free from ex-
tremes. Por twenty-nine years the mean temperature during
the months of J une, J uly, and August has been 7 9 degrees, and
for December, January, and February, 44.8 degrees. And its
water supply is excellent.

Located upon the system of inland waterways now in process
of construction, and connected with the great southern railway
lines, it has every facility for commerce, and, directly connected
with the vast coal fields, it offers advantages for a government
coaling station second to no other port on the coast.

FORT CASWELL AT THE PRESENT TIME.

In reply to my request through Senator Overman for particu-
lars of the present defenses at Fort Caswell, which has been
made one of the most important military posts on our coast, the
Assistant Secretary of War says:

“Fort Caswell is situate in Brunswick County, North Caro-
lina, about two miles from Southport and twenty-two miles from
Wilmington. The military reservation includes Oak Island and
contains an area of 2,325 acres. It is the headquarters of the
coast defenses of the Cape Fear, and is garrisoned by three com-
panies of the Coast Artillery Corps. It is commanded by Col.
Charles A. Bennett, Coast Artillery Corps.

“The armament of the post consists of mortars, direct and
rapid-fire guns, and includes a mine defense.

“The batteries have been named in honor of Richard Caswell,
a distinguished member of the Continental Congress, an officer
of the Revolutionary Army, and first governor of the State of
North Carolina ; of the late Capt. Alexander J. Swift, Corps of
Engineers, who was employed upon the construction of Fort
Caswell, and who died of disease contracted in the field during
the Mexican War; of the late Ensign Worth Bagley, United
States Navy, of North Carolina, killed in action at Cardenas,
Cuba, May 11, 1898; of the late First Lieut. William E. Shipp,

548

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Tenth Cavalry, killed at the Battle of San Juan, Cuba; of Sur-
geon William S. Madison, Third United States Infantry, who
was killed May 14, 1821, in action with the Indians near Fort
Howard, Wisconsin; of First Lieut. Patrick McDonough, Corps
of Artillery, United States Army, who was killed August 15,
1814, at the Battle of Fort Erie, Canada; and of Capt. Henry
McKavett, Eighth United States Infantry, who was killed Sep-
tember 21, 1846, at the Battle of Monterey, Mexico.”

THE PROPOSED COASTAL CANAL.

A great coastal canal system ultimately connecting Boston
with the Rio Grande entirely through inland waters would he
of importance to the commerce of the Cape Fear River, as to
all the Atlantic and Gulf coast. Such a project has received
the approval of many of the most thoughtful statesmen of the
country, and a beginning has already been made towards its
accomplishment. The Cape Cod Canal, constructed by private
means, is already finished, and it shortens the distance by water
from Boston to Hew York seventy miles, while it eliminates
many of the dangers of the old route. The government has de-
termined to secure possession of the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal with the purpose of converting it into a ship canal con-
necting the two great bays. A government ship canal has been
opened from Norfolk to Beaufort, and at various points along
the coast canals are either in course of construction or have been
surveyed by the Board of Engineers and recommended to Con-
gress for construction.

The link from the Cape Fear River to the northward, it was
hoped, might start above Wilmington, but the surveys showed
difficulties that were avoided by a sea-level canal through the
sounds, reaching the river by Telford’s Creek.

R. A. Parsley, J. A. Taylor, Hugh MacRae, and M. W.
Divine, among others, have been active and prominent in pre-
senting the arguments in favor of the construction of the link
from the Cape Fear River; and we can reasonably expect that
at no distant day this important aid to the commerce of Wil-
mington will be determined upon by the Federal Government,
and when opened its advantages will be of immense benefit to
the city.

While the senators and representatives in Congress from the

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549

State, especially the members from this section, have been keenly
alive to the advantages that will accrue from the construction of
this inland waterway, the work of Hon. John H. Small, the
member from the First District, has been of unexcelled impor-
tance. He has, indeed, been the genius and guardian spirit of
the inland-waterway improvement from its inception, and he
is entitled to first distinction in the acknowledgments of all
patriotic people who recognize public service unselfishly and
effectively rendered. He piloted the project through the shoals
and snags of increasing and innumerable difficulties with untir-
ing zeal and discretion, and this tribute is paid with a grateful
sense of appreciation and admiration. He conceived a project
national in scope, and has been actuated by no considerations of
local advantage; his honors will grow with the progress of the
work until his name will be known and his worth recognized
from the North Atlantic to the Gulf.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN WILMINGTON.

The development of the port and city of Wilmington during
the last decade has been in line with the general progress of the
country at large, and perhaps somewhat ahead of it. The im-
provement of the streets and the building of tall structures along
the principal thoroughfares denote a new era for the old colonial
town, which emerged so slowly from the shadows of the War
between the States.

Prior to the year 1877, the city of Wilmington had been for
years governed by a Board of Commissioners or a Board of
Aldermen, elected by the people. In the year 1877, for finan-
cially important reasons, the General Assembly provided for a
Board of Audit and Finance, to be appointed by the Governor,
giving the body so named and constituted almost exclusive con-
trol of the revenue and expenditures of the city. Under this
dual system, which worked with very little friction, and always
in the line of economy, the affairs of the city were managed
until 1907, when, in authorizing an issue of $900,000 in bonds
for water and sewerage and for street improvements, the Gen-
eral Assembly established two additional boards, a Water and
Sewerage Commission and a Street Commission. In 1909 still
another was added, a Police and Fire Commission. Under this
state of affairs there were four separately constituted boards

550

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

managing different departments of the municipality, with re-
sulting clash of authority and responsibility. Over them all,
the Board of Audit and Finance held control of the purse
strings.

The inconvenience of transacting business with so many de-
partments managing the affairs of the city without coordination,
and naturally therefore with lack of economy, became so appar-
ent that at an election, when the question was submitted, the
people almost unanimously adopted the commission form of
government. In 1911, a council of five members superseded all
of the hoards previously existing, and for nearly five years the
city has been under this form of government. Although some
good has been accomplished by simplifying governmental meth-
ods, much more might be done, it is believed, by the employment
of a municipal manager, as is being done in some other cities,
and by following more closely the methods adopted by business
corporations.

The commission form of municipal government has not
proved a success, except in cases where notorious graft prevailed,
and the tendency of municipal reform seems to he upon the
lines adopted successfully by the Germans of having trained
managers and concentrated control. As Price Collier says:
“Ho State can make men. Ho State can produce wealth and
worth. These three — men, and wealth, and worth — are pro-
duced, and produced only, where men measure themselves
against men for the mastery over the fruits of the earth, with-
out adventitious aids of any kind and under the protection of
laws that all make and all obey. Our mistakes and our political
troubles have mostly arisen from a wrong interpretation of
‘government by the people.’ It has never meant, and can never
he successful when it is interpreted as meaning, that each indi-
vidual shall take an active part in government. This is the
catch-penny doctrine preached from the platform by the dema-
gogue. The real spirit of ‘government by the people’ is merely
that they should at all times have control, and keep control, of
their governors.”

Arthur J. Brinton, in the Dispatch, says: “When James

Bryce, late British Ambassador to the United States, a keen,
acute, brilliant observer of American affairs, wrote a quarter of
a century ago that the Americans knew how to do some things
well, but did not know how to run their city governments, the
observation hurt. Here is Mr. Bryce’s exact language: ‘There

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551

is no denying that the government of cities is the one conspicu-
ous failure of the United States. The deficiencies of the Na-
tional Government tell hut little for evil on the welfare of the
people. The faults of the State governments are insignificant
compared with the extravagance, corruption, and mismanage-
ment which mark the administration of most of the great cities.
There is not a city with a population exceeding two hundred
thousand where the poison germs have not sprung into a vigor-
ous life. In some of the smaller ones, down to seventy thousand,
it needs no microscope to note the results of their growth.’

“Such criticism stung. American cities, feeling the wound,
have sought a soothing salve for their hurt feelings in revolu-
tionizing the form of their city governments. Mayors have
served them ill; municipal officials have been corrupt. Away
with them ! Let us get our city governments on a business
basis ; let us run them as we run our private business.”

The present mayor of Wilmington, Parker Quince Moore, is
a worthy descendant of the leading spirits of the colonial Cape
Fear described by the British Governor Burrington in his offi-
cial dispatches to the Home Government as the “pestiferous
Moore family,” who vexed the Boyal Government at Brunswick
by their revolutionary tendencies, and later, on the 19th of Feb-
ruary, 1766, advocated the first armed resistance on the Ameri-
can continent to the authority of their Sovereign Lord, King
George.

Mayor Moore is not only to the manner horn, hut his busi-
ness training, his patriotic spirit, and the charm of his pleasing
personality have established him in the respect and confidence
of all classes of our people. To my request for an expression
of his observations of municipal government he has kindly re-
sponded as follows :

“For some years there has been an increasing demand in this
country for better municipal government, and, if the views
attributed to an eminent statesman — that we had the worst-
governed municipalities in the world — is even approximately
correct, there is need for change. While we may not he quite
prepared to accede to so severe an arraignment, many of us are
fully convinced that the ordinary government of our cities and
towns is very far from being noticeable for the effective and eco-
nomic management usually prevailing in other corporations.

“The first move made in the direction of advantageous change
was in Galveston, where what has been popularly called the com-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

mission form of government was first instituted. Several hun-
dred cities have since undertaken this method, and as a step
forward in the betterment of conditions it is to be highly ap-
proved. While not all cities or towns had so wide a margin as
Galveston, between corruption and extravagance on the one
hand and honest administration on the other, upon which to
work, and while therefore the changes made elsewhere have not
indicated the same tremendous improvement, it is unquestion-
ably true that there has been a general and decided tendency
towards a higher standard in municipal government. That the
commission form of government is not in itself a panacea for
all ills of municipalities has been ascertained and is admitted,
hut the method permits of more opportunities for improvement,
and offers a better basis upon which to promote the interest of
taxpayers, who may he likened to stockholders in a corporation,
except that they secure dividends through savings rather than
from profits.

“In our own city, the new government had a small field for
accomplishment, as the previous ones had been economic and
conservative — possibly a little too conservative. It was the
result of the infliction on the city of too many commissions,
though the establishment of these was due to a desire for the
abolition of harmful politics, and was attributable to an effort
in the direction of better things. The form as we now have it
was intended to simplify and improve. This it has done, hut
there is more to he accomplished. We should advance further
by making our council more of a legislative and less of an execu-
tive body, and by consolidating departmental management un-
der one responsible head, following the method forced by expe-
rience on all commercial corporations. The appointment of a
city manager, having charge of executive and administrative
work, subject to the legislative control of the council, would, in
my judgment, unify the work of the government, promote har-
mony of operation, secure economy and effectiveness (which is
practically the same thing) , and, while not interfering with the
right of the people to select their own rulers, would secure man-
agement which would approve itself in lower taxes, higher effi-
ciency, less deference to selfish interests. Several cities are try-
ing out the manager plan, already successful in other countries,
and it is more than probable that all will adopt it eventually.”

J. Allan Taylor, Esq., one of our most eminent publicists and
logicians, whose experience as an alderman of the city of Wil-

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553

mington in former years increases the weight of his excellent
opinion, has expressed to me his view of municipal government
in the following words :

“Among the expedients tried for the betterment of city gov-
ernment is the commission form, hut the principle of this form
of administration is only indifferently understood and worse
applied. The principle proceeds upon the true conception of
municipal government — that the nearer government comes to
the control of the citizen in both life and property the more
closely it should approach industrial corporate management,
and the expedient has proved successful just in the degree that
its true conception has been appreciated and its true principle
applied. The political element is so ever-present and persistent
that capable administration can obtain only under conditions of
civic pride and sense of property responsibility, and when it is
remembered that of our municipal electorate only about four
per cent represent real property owners, the difficulty of admin-
istering city government on a business basis would seem an all
but insoluble problem.

“In regard to our local government, we have never had the
commission form except in name, and the opportunity for giv-
ing the theory a practical test was lost when political pressure
proved strong enough to dictate the terms of legislative enact-
ment, so that the present system is distinguishable from our old
form of aldermanic government only as respects the payment
of salary to councilmen and the shearing of the mayor of all
magisterial power. Ward lines still mark the political influ-
ence that shaped the system, a condition thoroughly inconsistent
with the choosing of councilmen with the single idea of fitness,
and this is the rock on which our experiment has been wrecked.
With ward lines abolished, there is reason to believe that it
would be possible to elect men at large qualified to administer
the government on business principles, provided the duties of
councilmen were made directorial and the salary eliminated.

“The ability of the city to pay salaries commensurate with
the undivided services of capable men is obviously impossible,
and the only practical alternative is the making of the office of
councilman an honorarium. The commission form of govern-
ment thrives just in proportion as the politician is absent and
the business man present.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

THE REVOLUTION OF 1898.1

“The year 1898 marked an epoch in the history of North
Carolina, and especially of the city of Wilmington. Long con-
tinued evils, borne by the community with a patience that seems
incredible, and which it is no part of my purpose to describe,
culminated, on the 10th day of November, in a radical revolu-
tion, accompanied by bloodshed and a thorough reorganization
of social and political conditions. It is commonly referred to
as the Wilmington Riot, and legally and technically it may he
properly so termed, but not in the usual sense of disorderly mob
violence, for, as was said by an army officer who was present
and witnessed it, it was the quietest and most orderly riot he had
ever seen or heard of. A negro printing office was destroyed by
a procession of perfectly sober men, but no person was injured
until a negro deliberately and without provocation shot a white
man, while others, armed and defiant, occupied the streets, and
the result was that about twenty of them were killed and the rest
scattered. It constituted an interesting chapter in the public
history of the country, and therefore I will not enlarge upon
it further than to say that it was the spontaneous and unani-
mous act of all the white people, and was prompted solely by
an overwhelming sense of its absolute necessity in behalf of
civilization and decency.”

Conditions in Wilmington were somewhat similar to those
described by Woodrow Wilson in his History of the American
People as existing in the South in Reconstruction days : “Ad-

venturers swarmed out of the North, as much the enemies of one
race as of the other, to cozen, beguile, and use the negro. The
white men were aroused by a mere instinct of self-preserva-
tion.” The city government had long been controlled by parti-
zans dependent upon the negro vote and was not at all responsive
to enlightened opinion. The ills attending that deplorable con-
dition had operated to check enterprise, arrest development, and
produce stagnation. The city had ceased to make industrial and
commercial progress. Whatever increase there was in the num-
ber of inhabitants was mainly due to the influx of indolent and
undesirable negroes, whose attitude towards the whites had be-
come unbearable. Hope of better days had almost faded away
when a vile publication in a negro newspaper aroused the whites

iBased in part on Colonel Waddell’s Memories.

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555

to action and determined them to rid the city of the pests that
had been a menace to its peace and an incnhns on its prosperity.
It was resolved to purge the city and to displace the inefficient
government.

At 11 o’clock on Wednesday, November 9, a remarkable
meeting of the leading citizens was held at the courthouse, at
which Col. A. M. Waddell, chairman of the meeting, under
resolutions adopted, appointed a committee composed of twenty-
five of the prominent business men of the city to adopt meas-
ures to carry out the purposes of the meeting.

It was demanded that the offending negro editor leave the
city within twenty:four hours, never to return, and that the
press on which his paper was published he shipped away. A
number of negro ministers and other reputable members of the
race were asked to use their influence to see that these demands
were met peaceably and to respond within a given time. Owing
to the failure on the part of a negro to deliver the reply within
the specified time, the white citizens, after waiting far beyond
the appointed hour, marched to the office of the paper and
destroyed the printing press and other equipment. By acci-
dent and not by intention, fire resulted, and the building was
destroyed, to the regret of the white people. Bloodshed, as
Colonel Waddell stated in the foregoing quotation from his
Memories , was begun by the negroes, it being the purpose of
the white people to avoid all bloodshed and needless violence.

On the evening of the day of this revolution, the mayor and
board of aldermen then in charge of the city of Wilmington
resigned, and their successors were nominated and elected.
Thus there was an entire change in the city government, and
the order of things then instituted has continued uninterrupted
ever since. The effect of the change upon the prosperity of
Wilmington was most happy, and the city then took a start in
progress which has never ceased.

It was only under stern necessity that the action of the white
people was taken, and while some of the incidents were de-
plored by the whites generally, yet when we consider the peace-
able and amicable relations that have since existed, the good
government established and maintained, and the prosperous,
happy conditions that have marked the succeeding years, we
realize that the results of the Bevolution of 1898 have indeed
been a blessing to the community.

556

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

CAPE FEAR NEWSPAPERS.

If we may believe the historian Williamson, the Lords Pro-
prietors and the royal governors during their administration of
affairs were extremely hostile to the establishment of news-
papers in the colony. Doubtless they knew well the power of
an unfettered press, and dreaded its influence upon the minds
of the people. Nor did the circumstances and conditions of the
early times offer any financial inducement for establishing a
printing house. It was not until 1749 that a press was set up
in the colony. In that year James Davis erected one at New
Bern; and in 1755, some post offices being then established by
which newspapers could be distributed, Davis began the publi-
cation of a paper in that town. It was called the North Caro-
lina Gazette , and was printed on a small sheet, and issued
weekly.

The second press set up in North Carolina was at Wilming-
ton, in 1763, by Andrew Stewart, who printed a paper called
the Cape Fear Gazette and Wilmington Advertiser. That
paper was discontinued in 1767, but was succeeded the same
year by the Cape Fear Mercury , published by Adam Boyd.
Boyd was a man of versatile talents, an Englishman, but a true
friend to the colonies. He was a member of the Committee of
Safety for the town of Wilmington, in 1775, and was a promi-
nent member of the Committee of Correspondence. In 1776
he entered the ministry and was appointed a chaplain of the
Continental Line.

We have no means of knowing how long the Mercury existed,
nor have we been able to find copies of any other publications
prior to 1818. In that year, Mr. David Smith, jr., father of
the late Col. William L. Smith, formerly mayor of the city of
Wilmington, commenced the publication of the Cape Fear Re-
corder, which continued under his management until 1835,
when Mr. Archibald Maclaine Hooper succeeded him. Mr.
Hooper had fine, scholarly attainments and was fond of the
classics. He had the pen of a ready writer, and his style was
characterized by ease and elegance. He was felicitous in ex-
pression, and clothed his ideas in language chaste and beauti-
ful. He was a near relative of William Hooper, the signer of
the Declaration of Independence, and he was the father of
J ohnson Hooper, in his day so well-known to fame as the author

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557

of Simon Suggs, Taking the Census , and other humorous works.
For a number of years the Recorder was the only paper pub-
lished in this part of the State. The next paper established
was the Wilmington Advertiser .

About the year 1832, Mr. Henry S. Ellen wood came to Wil-
mington, and assumed the editorial chair of the Advertiser.
He was an educated gentleman, and fitted for the duties of a
journalist. He courted the muses with considerable success,
and much of his work gave ample evidence of wit and fancy
and belles-lettres culture. His connection with the paper was,
however, very brief, as he died suddenly a short time after
taking charge. After his death the paper was purchased by
Mr. Joshua Cochrane, of Fayetteville, and conducted by him
until the summer of 1836, when he died and Mr. F. C. Hill
became the editor and proprietor, and continued its publication
until about the year 1842, when it ceased to exist.

Contemporary with the Advertiser was the People's Press ,
a paper published by P. W. Fanning and Thomas Loring, the
latter being the editor-in-chief, which position he held for some
time, when he disposed of his interest and purchased the Stand-
ard, the organ of the Democratic party of the State, issued at
Raleigh, and he removed to that city. There he brought to the
discharge of his duties great energy, perseverence, marked
ability, and a thorough familiarity with political history. He
was a man of sanguine temperament and a warm partisan, and
in the excitement of controversy often indulged in expression
towards his political opponents, which, in his calmer moments,
his judgment condemned. He wielded at one time a political
influence second to but few men in the State, and was an ac-
knowledged leader of his party; but, differing from them in
1842 in regard to their course towards the banks of the State, he
retired from the position he held rather than continue to hold
it at the sacrifice of his independence. Returning to Wilming-
ton, he established the Commercial , which he conducted for a
number of years, until failing health compelled him to discon-
tinue it.

The Wilmington Chronicle was established about the year
1838, by Asa A. Brown. It was an exponent of the principles
of the Whig party, and advanced them with great zeal and
ability. Mr. Brown was a capable editor, a good writer, and a
man of more than ordinary ability. In 1851, he disposed of
the paper to Talcott Burr, jr., who changed its name to the
Wilmington Herald.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Under Mr. Burr’s management, the Herald became one of
the leading papers in the State, and hut for his untimely death
in 1858, would have taken rank with any in the South.

Mr. Burr’s peculiar characteristics as a writer were his ready
wit and sparkling humor, overlaying a deep vein of strong,
impulsive feeling. Quick, vivid, and flashing, never missing
its point, yet never striking to wound, abounding in gay and
pleasant fancies, and always warm and genial as the summer
air, his wit and humor touched the commonest topic of everyday
life, and imbued it with new and charming attractiveness. He
was struck down by the shaft of the Great Destroyer in the
prime of life and in the midst of an active, useful, and honor-
able career. After his death, his brothers, C. E. and R. Burr,
carried on the paper for a year or two, when it passed into the
hands of A. M. Waddell, and ceased to exist on the breaking
out of the war.

The Wilmington Journal : In the year 1844, Alfred L.

Price and David Fulton, under the firm name of Fulton &
Price, issued the first number of the Wilmington Journal, a
paper destined to exercise a controlling influence for many
years upon the political questions of the day. The editorial
department was under the control of Mr. Fulton, and was very
ably conducted until his death, which occurred a year or two
after the establishment of the paper, when his brother, James
Fulton, took charge of its management.

James Fulton was no ordinary man. He possessed a vigor-
ous intellect and a clear judgment, was quick at repartee, and
prompt to take advantage of any point exposed by an adver-
sary ; hut he was always courteous, and rarely indulged in per-
sonalities. He wrote with great ease, and his style was chaste,
graceful, and vigorous. He had humor, too, and it bubbled up
continually — not that keen, pungent wit that stings and irri-
tates, hut that which provokes merriment by droll fancies and
quaint illustrations. He read much, and remembered what he
read, and could utilize it effectively.

The Journal quickly became a power in the State. In this
section particularly, its influence was unbounded. Mr. Fulton
died in the early part of the year 1866, and was succeeded as
editor by Maj. J. A. Engelhard, who sustained the high repu-
tation the paper had acquired. Upon the retirement of Mr.
Alfred L. Price, about 1873, Col. William L. Saunders became
connected with the paper, the editors being Engelhard and Saun-

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559

ders, an intellectual combination in journalism seldom sur-
passed.

During the troublous times after tbe close of the war, the
utterances of the Journal were manly, outspoken, and fearless
in condemnation of measures regarded as oppressive to our
people. The editors practiced no temporizing policy, but
boldly uttered what their convictions prompted them to declare.
The paper continued thus until 1876, when adverse circum-
stances caused its suspension as a daily. It was then pub-
lished as a weekly, the name Wilmington Journal being re-
tained by Joshua T. James, the new editor and proprietor.

But few copies of the earlier papers published in Wilming-
ton are now in existence. Of some, not a copy can be found,
hence there may be, and doubtless are, omissions in the present
list.

The Wilmington Post , a Republican paper, was established
in 1866, but about 1872 was discontinued.

The North Carolina Presbyterian , weekly, was first estab-
lished in Fayetteville, January 1, 1858, the Rev. George
McNeill and the late Bartholomew Fuller being the editors. It
was removed to Wilmington in November, 1874, John McLau-
rin becoming the editor and proprietor. Mr. McLaurin, who
was one of our most exemplary Christian citizens and a gentle-
man of fine attainments, continued its publication in Wilming-
ton for about twenty-five years, when he sold it to a Charlotte
publishing company, which disposed of it later to Dr. A. J.
McKelway, of Charlotte, where it is published as the Presby-
terian Standard.

The Wilmington Sun had a place in the morning field of
Wilmington journalism, and although short-lived, having its
beginning in September, 1879, and its end in April, 1880, it
left a pleasing memory in the community, which held in the
highest esteem its able editor, Mr. Cicero W. Harris, and his
capable staff, Mrs. Cicero W. Harris, Mr. Wade H. Harris,
and Mr. Harry P. Russell.

For some years prior to 1879, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, who
were of Oxford, N. C., were conspicuous in Wilmington for
their literary attainments. Mr. Harris was for some time
editor of the Star , and Mrs. Harris, who was a woman of most
attractive personality and of remarkable energy, published a
magazine, the South Atlantic , which might have prospered but
for the financial depression of the times.

560

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Col. Wade H. Harris, the present editor of the Charlotte
Observer , although a mere youth at the time, served as local
editor of the Sun, and today speaks of his experience and train-
ing in Wilmington in the warmest terms of appreciation.

Mr. Harry P. Russell shared with Mrs. Harris the duties of
the business office. He was a young man of fine attainments,
and later was prominently connected with the Hew York Sugar
Exchange and amassed a comfortable fortune. He died in
Orange, H. J., some six years ago.

The Sun was printed by Messrs. Jackson & Bell, the well-
known printers of Wilmington, and had as its capable fore-
man, Mr. Thomas T. Seeders, whose make-up was said to he
the best in the State.

The Africo- American Presbyterian , published in the interest
of the colored members of that denomination by Rev. D. J.
Saunders, a colored man of remarkable attainments, lived for
several years.

The North Carolina Medical Journal was established by Hr.
Thomas F. Wood in January, 1878. It was a monthly publica-
tion, ably edited and of great value to the profession.

The Morning Star , the State’s oldest daily newspaper, was
founded September 23, 1867, by William H. Bernard, who
came from his home in Fayetteville just at the close of the war,
and, on October 1, 1865, with the late Col. John D. Barry,
began the publication of the old Wilmington Dispatch , a morn-
ing daily newspaper, with its offices of publication on the south
side of Market Street, between Front and Second Streets. The
copartnership existing between Messrs. Bernard and Barry
lasted but a few months, and there was a dissolution of the firm,
each partner assuming his share of the liabilities. Major
Bernard took charge of the job printing department of the
business and Colonel Barry continued the publication of the
newspaper, which, after two or three years, suspended publi-
cation.

The job office included in its equipment the first press on
which the Morning Star was printed. Major Bernard removed
his part of the business to a room over a grocery store, then
conducted by Edwards & Hall, on Water Street, between Mar-
ket and Dock. He did job printing exclusively for several
months, but on September 23, 1867, began the publication of
the Star, which was conducted for some months as an evening
paper, but later took the morning field. It has remained in

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561

the newspaper firmament of the State as a morning paper until
this day, while other papers, started at intervals since, during
all these years have, for various reasons, one after another
dropped from the morning constellation.

The installation of a faster press necessitated a removal of the
plant to what is now known as Custom House Alley, where
it was published for nearly ten years. In 1876 the Star was
removed from that location to Numbers 10 and 11 Princess
Street, once an inn of the earlier Cape Fear period. The build-
ing at one time housed the late Joseph Jefferson, who, with his
theatrical company, came from New York in a sailing vessel,
playing in the local theatre and making trips by vessel to the
larger port cities of the two Carolinas, maintaining permanent
headquarters in Wilmington.

The predominant characteristic of the Star under the ad-
ministration of Major Bernard was its intense loyalty to the
Democratic party. Though conservative, it was not unmind-
ful of the need of party reform from time to time. Its greatest
service was perhaps during what is known as the “White Gov-
ernment Campaign” in North Carolina in 1898, culminating
in the Wilmington Kevolution in the same year. Major Ber-
nard never sought office, though for twenty-seven years he was
a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, and,
for a part of the time, a member of the Advisory Committee of
the party organization in the State.

On May 1, 1909, on account of impaired health and a desire
to retire from active journalism, Major Bernard sold the paper
to the present owners, the Wilmington Star Company, Inc.,
composed of some of the leading Wilmington business men, the
incorporators being J ames Sprunt, H. C. McQueen, M. J. Cor-
bett, Col. Walker Taylor, D. C. Love, C. W. Yates, William H.
Sprunt, Capt. John W. Harper, J. A. Springer, W. E. Springer,
the late James H. Chadbourn, James H. Carr, Joseph E.
Thompson, Maj. William H. Bernard, and his son, William
Stedman Bernard, the last two named having retained a small
interest in the business largely for sentimental reasons.

Upon the purchase of the property by the new owners, in
1909, the paper was moved to quarters fitted up for it in the
Orton Building, a perfecting press was installed, and new type-
setting machines were added. Within the next four years the
paper about doubled its circulation in Wilmington and tribu-
tary counties in eastern North Carolina and upper South Caro-

562

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

lina. It has devoted its energies for the most part since that
time to the educational and moral advancement of the com-
munity, to advocacy of a commission form of government, en-
forcement of law, and the general upbuilding of the community.
In 1914, its business having outgrown its former quarters, an
eligible site was purchased from the Murchison estate, and
the paper has moved into a home of its own on Chestnut Street,
overlooking the United States post-office grounds and in close
proximity to the business district of the city. With the removal
into its new home, a modern perfecting, stereotyping press
has been added to its equipment and other improvements have
been made.

Financially, the paper has prospered and was never upon a
sounder basis. The outlook for the future is all that could be
desired, and coming years are expected to justify fully the
faith that has inspired the present owners.

The Wilmington Messenger , which was founded by Julius
A. Bonitz, was removed to Wilmington from Goldsboro in
May, 1887, at the solicitation of a number of Wilmington’s
most influential business men, and the first issue was printed
June 29 of the same year in the old Journal Building on Prin-
cess Street. Mr. Bonitz was induced to move to Wilmington
after his plant had twice been destroyed by fire within a few
years. It was said that he gave Wilmington the most progres-
sive Democratic daily paper of its period. He continued as
owner and editor up to the time of his death, February 7, 1891,
and on April 5 of the same year the plant and good will were
purchased under foreclosure by Messrs. J. W. Jackson and
Benjamin Bell, and the paper was published under the firm
name of Jackson & Bell.

The Messenger was printed without missing a single issue
from Mr. Bonitz’ s death until it was taken over by the new
proprietors, and it was continued as an eight-page publication.

The paper under its new ownership was improved from time
to time, and for many years was one of the best edited and
most influential newspapers in eastern Forth Carolina. As a
leader in the campaign for white supremacy in 1898, under
the editorship of Dr. T. B. Kingsbury, the Messenger did com-
mendable service and was recognized throughout the State as
a powerful factor in aiding the Democratic party to accomplish
the political reforms of that period.

Dr. Kingsbury was succeeded in the editorial chair by Sam-

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563

uel T. Ashe, another experienced editor, who remained with
the Messenger until its suspension.

The Messenger suspended publication June 5, 1907, after
serving well its day and generation for twenty years. The pro-
prietors discontinued the paper in order to give closer attention
to the job department of the plant, this feature of the business
having greatly increased and having become more profitable
than the newspaper.

The Evening Review was published in Wilmington for sev-
eral years by its founder, editor, and proprietor, the late Joshua
T. James, a prominent member of one of the old substantial
families of the Cape Fear, noted for its intelligence and re-
finement, its public spirit and unselfish devotion to the best
interests of our people. Mr. James was a born journalist, alert,
intelligent, with the old-time urbanity which was a family
characteristic. Emerging from the four years’ war, he served
for years on the old J ournal staff, and then, without the neces-
sary means, he bravely undertook a task beset with difficulties
and which at times seemed insurmountable — the establishment
of an evening daily newspaper.

The Review was a clean, dignified newspaper, ably edited.
It had the good will of our community, and the lamented death
of its proprietor cut short the honorable career of one of the
builders of a better Wilmington. It lived from December, 1875,
until July, 1898.

The Evening Dispatch was begun the 10th of January, 1895,
upon the “commonwealth basis” by four printers with very
slender pecuniary means, who agreed to work without any com-
pensation until the venture was established upon a paying foun-
dation. After two months’ struggle one of the four partners
died, and the three survivors secured the services of Mr. R. K.
Bryan as editor. For two years the paper had a precarious
existence, and dire necessity forced two of the promoters into
more remunerative employment. The survivor, Mr. R. P.
McClammy, became the sole proprietor, and now after nine-
teen years of changing fortune he has established it upon a
sound, paying basis, with a competent staff of enterprising men
under his efficient leadership. It has grown from a mere hand-
bill of local items to its present respectable dimensions, and
from its original dingy quarters into a home of its own which
was specially designed for larger growth and influence. Re-
cently. it has been equipped with modern facilities, and its

564

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

patronage as the only evening daily is increasing by leaps and
bounds. Mr. R. P. McClammy is the proprietor, Mr. Janies
H. Cowan is editor, and Mr. William E. Lawson is city editor.

Dr. T. B. Kingsbury.

A chapter on the newspapers of the Lower Cape Pear in these
Chronicles would he incomplete without particular reference
to the career of our veteran journalist and scholar, the late Dr.
Theodore B. Kingsbury, whose memory is venerated by those
who were his contemporaries and by our citizens generally,
who regarded him with great respect and admiration. We
learn from Captain Ashe’s fine tribute in his Biographical
History of North Carolina , that early in life after Mr. Kings-
bury left the University of Korth Carolina, he published a
literary weekly at Oxford, Korth Carolina, under the name of
the Leisure Hour , which attracted much attention and drew
high commendation from John R. Thompson, editor of the
Southern Literary Messenger , then the most meritorious liter-
ary magazine published in the South, and from Paul H. Hayne,
the poet, then editing RusselVs Magazine , a large monthly of
genuine merit, published in Charleston, South Carolina, and
from other gifted editors. In June, 1859, he was elected to
the chair of literature in Trinity College ; but his thoughts and
religious fervor led him into another field, and he entered the
ministry, and continued in that calling until 1869. It was
about that time, in March, 1869, that he was employed as an
associate editor of the Raleigh Sentinel , then conducted by Hon.
J osiah Turner, and for two years and more he continued in that
capacity. While on the Sentinel, a momentous crisis in public
affairs was precipitated by the Republican administration of
the State, and Josiah Turner, with unequaled boldness, made
the Sentinel the champion of free government and of the
traditional liberties of the people. Uo greater service was ever
performed by any press than that rendered to the people of
Uorth Carolina by the Sentinel. In those exciting and perilous
times Dr. Kingsbury wrote much, and with strength and pa-
triotic fervor, for the editorial columns of the paper, and he
deserves to share in the great fame that is so justly awarded
Josiah Turner for his bold and resolute editorial work. On
three occasions Dr. Kingsbury declined the editorship of the
Raleigh Christian Advocate ; but he edited Our Living and Our

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Dead for several years, a publication of a high order of merit,
begun by Col. S. D. Pool; and he also edited the Educational
Journal in 1874 and 1875, doing much to advance the cause of
public education at that time in North Carolina. His contribu-
tions to Our Living and Our Dead were noteworthy, especially
his literary criticisms. About that time he was offered a posi-
tion as editorial writer on the Wilmington Star , and, accepting
it, began a long career of journalism that gave great satis-
faction to his friends and the patrons of that paper. He con-
tinued with the Star for nearly thirteen years, when he became
editor of the Wilmington Messenger , with which he remained
for about as long a period, having had an experience in journal-
ism in Wilmington of more than a quarter of a century. As an
editor, Dr. Kingsbury brought to the discussion of his subjects
a large store of varied learning, and his productions were read
with great avidity by a host of admirers and received the warm
commendation of many of the ablest men and best thinkers of
the State. In particular were his literary articles valued by
the most cultured among the readers of his papers. The teach-
ers and the professors of the various colleges, the lawyers, and
the ministers of every denomination were generous and un-
stinted in their praise, while his work was not without the
appreciation of the editorial fraternity. His style was clear
and perspicuous, elegant in diction and remarkably forceful,
and there ran through all his editorials a strain of patriotism,
a love of North Carolina, an appreciation of the excellence of
her great men, that was a distinctive characteristic of his work.
In particular was he as an editor at pains to perpetuate the
memory of the great feats performed by the North Carolina
soldiers in the War between the States, and to instill into the
minds of the present generation a correct understanding of the
causes that led to the bloody contest. Indeed, no other editor
of the State has been more patriotic than Dr. Kingsbury, and
none has excelled him in elegance of diction and in a large
vocabulary and literary merit.

THE WILMINGTON BAR.

The Wilmington Bar has always been one of strength and
power, even from colonial days. Among the earlier members
who stood high were William Hooper and Archibald Maclaine ;

566

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

later, the eminent Samuel K. Jocelyn, famed as an equity law-
yer, Judge J. G. Wright, William Hill, and William K. Hal-
sey; then Joseph Alston Hill, William B. Meares, and Owen
Holmes, followed by William A. Wright and Joshua G.
Wright. Just before the war, in addition to the two Wrights,
were Lucian Holmes, Thomas Miller, Adam Empie, Mauger
London, Eli Hall, John L. Holmes, Oliver P. Meares, Moody
B. Smith, Griffith J. McKee, DuBrutz Cutlar, Alfred M.
Waddell, and Fred Poisson, and on a somewhat different level
from any of these were George Davis, Kobert Strange, and
Samuel J. Person.

After the war the eloquent voice of Joshua G. Wright was
heard no more, but his mantle fell on Charles M. Stedman.
Other accessions were the brothers William S. Devane and
Duncan J. Devane, Judge Eobert French, Duncan K. MacKae,
Eugene S. Martin, and Marsden Bellamy. While Mr. Wil-
liam A. Wright was accorded a particular eminence, Mr.
Davis, Colonel Strange, and Judge Person were without supe-
riors in the profession anywhere in the Union. Ho other city
of only twenty thousand inhabitants could boast of a bar of
equal strength, eloquence and learning. And there was never
heard any suggestion of scandal among them. The shining
lights of that period have passed away, their places being taken
by their sons and kinsmen and others of excellent learning,
fine attainments, and high character.

Members of the bar now licensed to practice in Hew Hanover
County are: C. C. Bellamy, E. H. Bellamy, J. D. Bellamy,

J. D. Bellamy, jr., Marsden Bellamy, W. J. Bellamy, W. M.
Bellamy, L. A. Blue, B. H. Bridgers, E. K. Bryan, K. O.
Burgwin, E. T. Burton, Kobert Branch, W. B. Campbell, C. C.
Cashwell, J. O. Carr, A. C. Chalmers, T. W. Davis, Eufus
DeVane Dickson, George B. Elliott, B. G. Empie, S. M. Empie,
W. P. Gafford, Louis Goodman, E. G. Grady, L. Clayton
Grant, Lee Greer, J. E. Head, C. D. Hogue, G. H. Howell,
W. F. Jones, Graham Kenan, Woodus Kellum, J. C. King,
J. W. Little, C. C. Loughlin, E. S. Martin, Iredell Meares,
Thomas D. Meares, jr., H. McClammy, J. G. McCormick,
W. B. McKoy, J. A. McHorton, George L. Peschau, L. J.
Poisson, A. G. Kicaud, H. E. Eogers, George Eountree, Eobert
Kuark, P. D. Satchwell, J. H. Scull, K. C. Sidbury, J. A.
Smith, W. L. Smith, W. P. Stacey, E. W. Strange, W. A.
Townes, W. P. M. Turner, C. D. Weeks, A. S. Williams.

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567

HONORABLE GEORGE DAVIS, CONFEDERATE
STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL.

On January 4, 1864, Hon. George Davis, then in the Con-
federate States Senate, was appointed by President Davis At-
torney General of the Confederacy. His fine attainments gave
him high eminence in the Cabinet, and his counsel was most
helpful in determining the many delicate questions that pressed
upon the President for decision, involving not merely the con-
stitutional powers of the government, but also matters of great
import in international law. The complications of the war
period and the fact that the Confederacy was not recognized
as a sovereign nation, made his function as the legal adviser of
the government exceptional, and he discharged his high duties
with great acceptability and distinction.

The high esteem in which Mr. George Davis was held by
his devoted chief is attested in the following letter, addressed by
the Confederate President to his faithful Attorney General
after the evacuation of Richmond:

Charlotte, N. C., 25th April, 1865.
Hon. Geo. Davis, C. S. Attorney General.

My Dear Sir: — I have no hesitation in expressing to you my opinion
that there is no obligation of honor which requires you, under existing
circumstances, to retain your present office. It is gratifying to me to
be assured that you are willing, at any personal sacrifice, to share my
fortunes when they are least promising, and that you only desire to
know whether you can aid me in this perilous hour to overcome sur-
rounding difficulties. It is due to such generous friendship that I
should candidly say to you that it is not probable for some time to come
your services will be needful.

It is with sincere regret that I look forward to being separated from
you. Your advice has been to me both useful and cheering. The
Christian spirit which has ever pervaded your suggestions, not less
than the patriotism which has marked your conduct, will be remem-
bered by me when in future trials I may have need for both.

Should you decide (my condition having become rather that of a
soldier than a civil magistrate) to retire from my Cabinet, my sincere
wishes for your welfare' and happiness will follow you; and I trust a
merciful Providence may have better days in store for the Confederacy,
and that we may hereafter meet, when, our country’s independence
being secured, it will be sweet to remember how we have suffered to-
gether in the time of her sorest trial.

Very respectfully and truly your friend,

Jefferson Davis.

568

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Charlotte, N. C., April 26, 1865.
Hon-. Geo. Davis, C. S. Attorney General.

My Dear Sir: — Your letter dated yesterday, tendering your resigna-
tion, has been received. While I regret the causes which compel you
to this course, I am well assured that your conduct now, as heretofore,
is governed by the highest and most honorable motives. In accepting
your resignation, as I feel constrained to do, allow me to thank you for
the important assistance you have rendered in the administration of
the government, and for the patriotic zeal and acknowledged ability
with which you have discharged your trust.

Accept my thanks, also, for your expressions of personal regard and
esteem, and the assurance that those feelings are warmly reciprocated
by me.

With the hope that the blessings of heaven may attend you and yours,
I am most cordially your friend,

Jefferson Davis.

This affectionate regard for the beloved leader of the Cape
Tear was the subject of repeated conversations in late years
between the writer of the Chronicles and the distinguished lady
who bore the honored name of Jefferson Davis, and who was
ever faithful and true to him and to the people whom he
loved.

Upon the receipt of the sad intelligence of his death, she
wrote to me from a , sick bed the following tender and sympa-
thetic lines:

“I am able to sit up a little, and regret that I am not strong
enough to say as much about dear Mr. George Davis as my
heart dictates.

“He was one of the most exquisitely proportioned of men.
His mind dominated his body, but his heart drew him near to
all that was honorable and tender, as well as patriotic and
faithful in mankind. He was never dismayed by defeat, and
never dejected. When the enemy was at the gates of Richmond
he was fully sensible of our peril, but calm in the hope of re-
pelling them, and if this failed, certain of his power and will
to endure whatever ills had been reserved for him.

“His literary tastes were diverse and catholic, and his anx-
ious mind found relaxation in studying the literary confidences
of others in a greater degree than I have ever known in any
other public man except Mr. Benjamin. Upon being asked one
day how he was, he answered : T am very much comforted and
rested by Professor Holcomb’s Literature in Letters / one of
the few new books which came out during the Confederacy.

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569

One of the few hard things I ever heard him say was when
some one asked him if he had read Swinburne’s Laus Veneris ,
and added, ‘You know it is printed on wrapping paper and
bound in wall paper.’ He replied : ‘I have never thought wall
paper wholesome, and am sorry to know there is enough wrap-
ping paper on which to print it.’

“He was fond of tracing the construction of languages, and
the variants from one root were a favorite subject of conversa-
tion with him.

“When he fell in love and married a charming woman, the
whole of Richmond rejoiced with him, and expressed no doubts
of the happiness of either. Mr. Davis’ public life was as irre-
proachable as his private course. Once when my husband came
home wearied with the divergence of opinions in his Cabinet,
he said : ‘Davis does not always agree with me, but I generally
find he was right at last.’

“I can not, of course, tell you about his political opinions,
except that he was one of the strictest construers of the Con-
stitution, and firmly believed in its final triumph over all
obstacles to freedom.

“My husband felt for him the most sincere friendship, as
well as confidence and esteem, and I think there was never the
slightest shadow intervened between them.”

GEORGE DAYIS— AH APPRECIATION.

Very early in life it became known that Mr. George Davis
excelled in literary attainments and in oratory. On the death
of Henry Clay, he made an address that brought him an en-
viable reputation; at the commencement of the State Univer-
sity in 1855, he delivered an oration — “Olden Times on the
Cape Pear” — that was pronounced extraordinary; and the next
year his address before the Greensboro Female College was a
most remarkable effort. After the war, he delivered in Wil-
mington a masterful oration on the political issues of that day.
A similar address, delivered in Wilmington in 1876, is thus
described by Dr. Kingsbury in the Morning Star:

“The speech to which we listened is a very memorable one.
It will long abide with us as one of those felicitous, rounded,
finished efforts of a highly endowed and noble intellect that
are a memory and a joy forever. As a composition, the effort

570

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

of Mr. Davis was very admirable. There was humor, there was
sarcasm, there was exquisite irony, there were flashes of wit,
there was an outburst of corosive scorn and indignation, that
were wonderfully artistic and effective. At times a felicity of
illustration would arrest your attention, and a great outburst
of high and ennobling eloquence would thrill you with the most
pleasurable emotions. The taste was exceedingly fine, and,
from beginning to end, the working of a highly cultivated,
refined, graceful, and elegant mind was manifest. There were
passages delivered with high dramatic art that would have
electrified any audience on earth. If that speech had been
delivered before an Athenian audience in the days of Pericles,
in Pome in the day when Cicero thundered forth his burning
and sonorous eloquence, or in Westminster Hall, with Burke
and Pox and Sheridan among the auditors, the speaker would
have received their loudest acclaims, and his fame would have
gone down the ages as one of those rarely gifted men who know
well how to use their native speech and to play with the touch
of a master on that grand instrument, the human heart.

“We could refer at length, if opportunity allowed, to the
scheme of his argument, to his magnificent peroration, in which
passion and imagination swept the audience and led them cap-
tive at the will of the magician; to the exquisitely apposite
illustrations, now quaint and humorous, and then delicate and
pathetic, drawn with admirable art from history and poetry and
the Sacred Truth — to these and other points we might refer.
But how can words, empty words, reproduce the glowing elo-
quence and entrancing power of the human voice when that
voice is one while soft as Apollo’s lute, then resonant as the
blast of a bugle under the influence of deep passion ? How can
human language bring back a forgotten strain or convey an
exact impression made by the tongue of fire when burdened
with a majestic eloquence ?”

Prom time to time Mr. Davis delivered other addresses on
literary, historical, and political subjects. Especially notable
were those on the death of General Lee and of President Davis.

In the third volume of Southern Literature Dr. Alphonso
Smith, a competent and severe critic, attributes to Mr. Davis
the rare power of the

“Choice word and measured phrase above the reach
Of ordinary men.”

“He brought,” says Dr. Smith, “an interpretative imagina-

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571

tion to bear upon every subject that be discussed; he visualized
the scenes and vitalized the events he sought to portray. He
had that rarest of gifts — the feeling for the right word in the
right place. There was no strained after-effect, but his style was
clear, strong, and flexible. He could be dignified without being
heavy, and playful without being light.” According him great
ability as an orator, Dr. Smith adds : “His power over an audi-
ence did not rest merely on oratorical gifts, but rather upon
the high moral, social, and civic ideals which he exemplified
in his daily life.”

Ho man was ever more revered in his community than Mr.
Davis. He was regarded as the most illustrious son of the
Cape Dear. When he died the Wilmington Chamber of Com-
merce prepared a memorial of his life and the Daughters of
the Confederacy erected the monument to him that stands in
the heart of the city. Though he declined the distinction of-
fered him by Governor Vance in January, 1878, of being
appointed to the office of Chief Justice, his memory was honored
by the Supreme Court when, on the 19th of October, 1915, it
accepted a portrait of him. The occasion of the presentation
was notable, and Capt. S. A. Ashe delivered an eloquent and
masterful address reviewing Mr. Davis’ life and work.

Would that the youth of the rising generation who daily pass
the bronze effigy of this foremost scholar and statesman of the
Cape Fear knew more of one whose wisdom truly illustrated
the principles of law and equity, whose eloquence commanded
the admiration of his peers, who was beloved for his stainless
integrity, and, shining in the “pure excellence of virtue and
refinement,” exemplified with dignity and simplicity, with
gentle courtesy and Christian faith, the true heart of chivalry
in Southern manhood. As we contemplate his lofty qualities,
we can not repress the sigh of regret that such greatness is no
more. The soaring thought, the brilliant imagination, the bal-
anced judgment, the profound learning we do not expect to see
every day, nor in every generation. The stainless honor, the
broad patriotism, the noble disinterestedness of his public serv-
ice are unhappily too little seen in our public men. But it is
surely not too much to hope that the example of his blameless
life will not be lost upon the people among whom he lived so
long and so honorably. How well he exemplified in his own
career the beautiful message which he brought in his early
years to those just entering upon the duties of life :

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“Rather be yours the generous ambition to shine only in the pure ex-
cellence of virtue and refinement. * * * Go forth, then, into the

world and meet its trials and dangers, its duties and pleasures, with a
firm integrity of heart and mind, looking ever onward and upward, and
walking erect before the gaze of men, fearless, because without reproach.
When the glad sunshine is upon you, rejoice and be happy. When the
dark hours come, light them with a gentle patience and a Christian faith.

“* * * This above all: ‘To thine own self be true, and it must fol-

low as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.’ ”

THE GEORGE DAVIS MONUMENT.

By Mrs. William M. Parsley.

Several years after the death of the Hon. George Davis, the
Cape Eear Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy con-
ceived the idea of erecting a monument to the memory of this
beloved statesman of the Cape Eear. It was not, however, until
January, 1904, that the financial condition of the chapter
enabled the members to make even a beginning in the cherished
undertaking. At that time a small balance of $50 in the
treasury was placed in bank to the credit of the George Davis
Memorial Fund, and a committee of five ladies was appointed
to take charge of the matter. The members of this committee
were Mrs. William M. Parsley, chairman; Mrs. Martin S. Wil-
lard, president of the chapter, Mrs. James Carmichael, Mrs.
Gabriel Holmes, and Miss Mary Calder. Later, the number of
members was increased to ten, and Mrs. Jane D. DeRosset was
elected chairman, with Mrs. John C. James, secretary.

The first action of the committee was to notify all chapters
of the Daughters of the Confederacy and camps of Confeder-
ate Veterans throughout the State of the plan, inviting their
cooperation and support; but these organizations were busy
with their own local work, most of them with inadequate means,
and, though expressing the heartiest approval, they were able
to contribute but little.

The first voluntary contribution — a ten-dollar gold piece —
was made by Mrs. Henry Rehder, who, though not a Daughter
of the Confederacy, admired and revered Mr. Davis. Another
lady made a contribution of $50 — the proceeds from work by
her own hands. The Wilmington Light Infantry gave a dra-
matic entertainment for the benefit of the fund and realized
$90. The ever loyal and faithful George Davis Children’s

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573

Chapter sent several gifts of $10 each. But the fund grew
slowly, and the committee, feeling its inability to cope with
the matter, had almost decided to return the amounts subscribed
and abandon the hope of erecting the monument. At this criti-
cal time, however, one of our leading business men, whose per-
sonal admiration for Mr. Davis gave him enthusiasm for the
cause, subscribed $1,000 and persuaded a friend to contribute
a like amount. Later, he raised the remainder of the $5,500
needed, and the committee was at once enabled to carry out its
plans.

The design of the memorial is a portrait statue in bronze on a
base of North Carolina granite, executed by Francis H. Packer,
of New York City — a chaste, beautiful monument, with a won-
derfully accurate likeness of Mr. Davis, standing with his face
towards the Cape Fear River and reaching forward in a charac-
teristic gesture of the right hand, while the left rests lightly
upon the flag to which he was true to the end of his life.

On October 14, 1909, the cornerstone was laid with imposing
ceremonies, Col. A. M. Waddell making the address; and on
April 20, 1911, the monument was unveiled by four of Mr.
Davis’ grandsons — Robert Cowan Davis, Heiskell Gouverneur,
George Rountree, and Donald MacRae, jr.

The address of Judge Henry G. Connor in presenting the
monument to the city was heartily enjoyed by every one in at-
tendance and was an able and brilliant review of the life of Mr.
Davis, scintillating with touches of local history and memories
that are ever dear to every patriotic Wilmingtonian. Following
Judge Connor, the acceptance on behalf of Wilmington was by
Mayor MacRae, who spoke in his characteristically happy, hut
brief manner, as follows :

Ladies and Gentlemen and United Daughters of the Confederacy: It
is my duty for the mayor and aldermen, and for all that is best in Wil-
mington, to receive this monument. It commemorates the virtues of
one of our own fellow-citizens who, through a long life as a great
lawyer, never bowed the knee to Baal, never lowered the standard of
Right, never stood for anything which his conscience did not approve,
never permitted any motive of selfish gain or advancement to move him
from his integrity. Though he has crossed over the river, he still sur-
vives in the best and broadest sense; for the life that he lived is an
inspiration to all. The beauty of righteousness is still crimson in his
cheeks and on his lips and Death’s pale flag is not advanced there.

If there be any ambitious young men who feel disheartened and dis-
couraged when they see mean men promoted and base actions applauded,
let them take heart again and go forward with renewed courage. Be-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

hold this statue shall he a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God, and
say, in your hearts, that crooked ways are good and bad methods justi-
fiable.

We receive the statue with pride and shall count it among the city’s
most precious possessions.

ALFRED MOORE WADDELL— AUTHOR.

We feel grateful to the State press for many graceful tributes
of respect to the memory of this dead statesman, jurist, scholar
of the Cape Fear; but I think that these generous tokens of
admiration have not sufficiently emphasized the beautiful ex-
pressions of his pen. Colonel Waddell’s superior talents, his
remarkable power of speech, his pleasing personality, and his
courteous address were known to all men, hut how few of our
people know of his generous contributions to literature.

I have read and reread his three charming hooks, A Colonial
Officer and His Times , Some Memories of My Life , and The
History of New Hanover County , with ever-increasing pleas-
ure and profit.

There are flashes of wit and humor throughout his Memories,
and even Mark Twain at his best does not surpass him in his
description of Haylies Gainey, the bleeding to death of James
Dawson in the railroad accident, or the Confederate prisoner’s
estimate of the damage done to Fort Fisher by Butler’s “powder
ship” ; nor have I read in Clarke Russell’s wonderful sea tales
anything comparable to Colonel Waddell’s thrilling story Pilots
in a Storm. Its descriptive, dramatic strength reminds one of
Victor Hugo’s weird “Story of the Gun” ; but Colonel Waddell’s
story is true in all its details, as it tells of a tragedy in which
five devoted Cape Fear pilots went down to death, and how five
other toilers of the sea in the same gale were saved at the risk
of a life freely volunteered for theirs, for the sake of their wives
and children, and his hero, Joe Arnold, still survives.

The poetic principle is described in his closing reference to
St. Philip’s Church, and to Fort Anderson, which enclosed it,
at Old Brunswick ; and as we read the lines we can almost hear
the sighing of the pines as they bend gently in the soft south
wind to the call of the sea : “Since then it has again relapsed

into its former state, and the bastions and traverses and para-
pets of the whilom Fort Anderson are now clad in the same exu-
berant robe of green with which generous nature in that clime
covers every neglected spot. And so the old and the new ruin

Peace Restored

575

stand side by side, in mute attestation of the utter emptiness of
all human ambition, while the Atlantic breeze sings gently amid
the sighing pines, and the vines cling more closely to the old
church wall, and the lizard basks himself where the sunlight
falls on a forgotten grave.”

In conclusion, his beautiful verses in reply to Gen. Albert
Pike’s “Every Year” appeal with peculiar tenderness to those
of us who were in sympathy with our dear friend, and who are
fast following his footsteps towards “The Better Land.”

THE BETTER LAND.

By Alfbed Moobe Waddell.

“Time, fly he ne’er so fleetly
Every year,

Only tunes your harp more sweetly
Every year.

And we listen to its ringing,

And the minstrel swan-like singing,

More melodious numbers flinging,

Every year.

“Sing on, 0 grand old master,

Every year,

Pour thy mellow measures faster
Every year;

They will make our journey lighter,

And our weary pathway brighter,

As our locks grow thin and whiter
Every year.

“Yes, our loved ones go before us
Every year,

And the living more ignore us
Every year.

It is well; what need for sorrow
If the dawn of each tomorrow
Brighter tints from heaven borrow
Every year.”

BISHOP ROBERT STRANGE.

An eminent divine has said: “Among the great gifts that

God has given to men is the gift of men; and among all the
gifts with which God has enriched His Church, one of the
greatest has been the gift of consecrated men, for they are the
instrumentalities by which the Church has been moulded and
guided and prospered in all the generations of the world.”

576 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

As we contemplate the lofty qualities of many consecrated
men of the past in Wilmington, whose chief end was to glorify
God, whose self-sacrificing lives were devoted to the temporal
and spiritual welfare of our people, we are moved to emotions
of profound thankfulness that God has given us such Christ-like
examples of His people who through faith and patience have
inherited the promises. The honor roll is a long one, hut their
record is on high, and the last is of one who was loved with
more than fraternal affection by his devoted people.

Those of us who had known Robert Strange from his boy-
hood and had witnessed the generous impulses of his school life ;
who had later watched with affectionate interest the moulding
of a character that was to shine in the reflected glory of the
King in His beauty; whose life was to expand from the nar-
rower to the widest sphere of activity and usefulness, were
proud of this prophet, who was not without honor in his own
country, for we believed that he had seen the vision and as his
Divine Exemplar’s evangel would draw many men from world-
liness to the better life. His gentle, genial, kindly nature, his
exquisite courtesy of manner, his loving, sympathetic devotion
to his people and indeed to all men, for he had an intense yearn-
ing for souls, were always manifest ; but I think from the
time of his great decision, when, like Samuel of old, he humbly
responded to the call of Jehovah, the increasing beauty of his
personal life was “the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, long-
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
He was renewed in the image of God and was enabled more and
more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness.

His humanities were manifold and found expression in his
constant solicitude for the health and happiness of the children
of the city. Several times in the year he made an address to
the pupils of the public schools, and he never went unprepared ;
there was a charm in what he said and in his manner of saying
it that greatly pleased his eager listeners, and his appearance
was always hailed with expressions of delighted appreciation.
He gave much of his valuable time to various schemes for public
playgrounds, and his patience and forbearance under repeated
disappointments when his plans were almost accomplished are
gratefully remembered by those who strove with him to obtain
these benefits for the hoys of Wilmington.

We were workers together in the Seamen’s Eriend Society
of this port at a critical time in its history, when the forces of

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577

evil baffled the efforts of the few wbo were faithful in promoting
the welfare of the toilers of the sea, and it was largely due to
his sympathy and support in the earlier days of his ministry
that this important service was brought to a higher degree of
efficiency.

In many other ways he was devoted to the welfare of the
people whom he loved so well, and his constantly increasing
activities, linked with the larger responsibilities of his sacred
office, gradually undermined a constitution which had been
greatly overtaxed. His sudden illness, which from the begin-
ning filled us with sad forebodings, seemed for a time to yield
to medical treatment, but the joy this brought to many hearts
was evanescent, for it soon became apparent to those who dis-
cerned a change that the frail tenement was closing up its win-
dows, and putting out its fires; but as the outward man failed,
the inward man was renewed day by day, until his gentle spirit
took its flight to be forever with the Lord.

It may be said of him in the dying words of General Have-
lock, while his devoted son held him in his arms, “For forty
years I have tried so to live as to meet death without dismay/’

One of Bishop Strange’s rare qualities was a cheerful coun-
tenance and an abiding spirit of cheerfulness. aHe wist not
that his face so shone.” And even under the inevitable shadow
of clouds and darkness which sometimes obscured the light, he
was never dismayed. H or did he ever protest under a sense of
injustice or unfairness.

“One single passion held his heart in sway;

An earnest craving for the pure and true.

And though at times God’s face felt far away

His earth-dimmed eyes so deeply yearned to view;

“Still in the dark as in the light he smiled,

He said the sun was shining all the time;

And for the things he could not understand
He hoped and trusted in a love sublime.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY OF COLONIAL DAMES
OE AMERICA.

By Rosa Pendleton Chiles.

“There he of them that have left a name behind them.”

“For there are deeds that should not pass away, and names that must
not wither.”

“Did ever a man a valiant deed but a woman arose to sound his
praises?”

“As the painter puts upon canvas the images and fancies of his
imagination, making them real and tangible, so your society records
upon bronze and stone the deeds of a brave people.”

Organized in 1894 by the initiative and largely through the
enthusiastic efforts of Mrs. George W. Kidder, the North Caro-
lina Society of Colonial Dames of America, in its twenty-two
years of patriotic life, has accomplished much of which not only
the society but the State may be justly proud. And better than
tangible achievement, has been the infusion into its membership
and quietly through its membership, as well as by its public
acts, into the life of the State an increasing love of the work for
which the organization exists — to strengthen patriotism and to
preserve in visible -memorial and in the heart of an age whose
sentiment is in danger of becoming dimmed by the intensity of
its practical aims, deepened interest in that heroic past when
the foundation of our country’s greatness was laid upon a rock-
bed of lofty purpose and valiant deed.

So rich is North Carolina in colonial achievement, that the
effort to perpetuate the memory of it, much of which lay buried
in unidentified sites and in unpublished archives, has com-
manded the most persistent and strenuous activities of the Co-
lonial Dames of this State. Especially has this been true of the
Dames of the Cape Fear, where local traditions abound and his-
toric memories are associated with nearly every point on the
river.

The State membership is large — now more than five hun-
dred— and among the leaders many have come from the Cape
Fear. Not being able to mention all who have aligned them-
selves with the highest purposes of the organization and through
masterful leadership carried those purposes to fulfillment, con-
sideration in this brief account will be given only to the work
of three ladies of the Cape Fear who have been presidents of

Peace Restored

579

the society — Mrs. George W. Kidder, Mrs. Gaston Meares, and
Mrs. Janies Sprnnt.

Mrs. Kidder, the first president, is a descendant of William
Hill, whom Josiah Quincy visited at Brunswick in 1773 and
found a man of exalted patriotism and warmly attached to the
cause for which America was about to take up arms, and of his
son, Capt. John Hill, a gallant and distinguished Continental
officer of the Cape Fear. As was natural, therefore, she brought
to the Horth Carolina Society of Colonial Dames of America,
together with the lovely characteristics of Cape Fear woman-
hood, the devoted patriotism of her forefathers.

By her successful initiative, her high aims, and her uncon-
querable determination, Mrs. Kidder accomplished the impor-
tant work of organization and of giving definite purpose to the
labors of the society. In the start she emphasized the fact that
the organization should not exist merely for the gratification of
ancestral pride and the poetizing of patriotic sentiment, and
under her incumbency one of the principal undertakings of the
Korth Carolina Dames was begun — the erection of a monument
to Cornelius Harnett and the civic and military heroes of the
Devolution. The magnitude of this task was such that thirteen
years were spent in its completion, hut during this long period
there was no lessening of steadfast purpose, no diminution of
persistent effort.

Mrs. Kidder was succeeded in the presidency by Mrs. Gaston
Meares, a descendant of Moses John DeRosset, mayor of Wil-
mington when the men of the Cape Fear successfully resisted
the Stamp Act in 1766, and the widow of the lamented Col.
Gaston Meares, who fell at Malvern Hill in 1862, while com-
manding the Third Regiment of Korth Carolina Troops — a
woman whose talent and eminent position imparted strength to
the society and energized its efforts. Mrs. Kidder says of her
that she gave the work of the Monument Committee “fresh
impetus, for she brought to it all the influence of a masterful
mind and a strong personality.” She also did much towards
systematizing the work of the society throughout the State by
the appointment of committees of research in the counties to
cooperate with the head organization in Wilmington. In 1906
Mrs. Meares retired, and was succeeded by Mrs. James Sprunt,
who for some time had been vice president.

Mrs. Sprunt was a descendant of the distinguished William
Bryan and his wife, Lady Alice Keedham, of colonial times, and

580 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

of the Murchisons and other heroes of the Cape Fear. She was
Lnola Murchison, and throughout an honored Christian life sus-
tained the virtues implied in her Indian name — “a true woman
and good to look upon.” From her earliest years she was trained
in patriotism, and when only four and a half years old gathered
in her grandfather’s barn the grains of corn from which her
heroic mother — the most beautiful woman in Cumberland
County and a devoted patriot — made gruel for the sick and
wounded soldiers when Sherman’s army devastated her grand-
father’s plantation, leaving food neither for the family nor for
the disabled Federals and Confederates whom they abandoned
to their fate. She brought to the office of president an ampli-
tude of mind, a strength of personality, a forceful energy, a
voluntary activity, an unlimited perseverance, and a wealth of
initiative that bore substantial and permanent fruit. During
the first year of her administration the Monument Committee
completed its work for the Harnett Memorial, and on May 2,
1907, the beautiful shaft was unveiled. The ceremonies upon
this occasion were imposing, hut the most interesting feature of
the program was the presentation of the monument to the city
of Wilmington in the eloquent sentences of Mrs. Kidder as the
first monument ever erected in that city to the men of colonial
times. Too much ,can not he said in praise of this laudable
undertaking — costly in time and effort and money — and of the
ladies who gave themselves so freely to its accomplishment. Of
Mrs. Sprunt’s part in carrying the work to completion, Mrs.
Kidder has recently written :

“The memorial to the ‘Men of the Cape Fear’ would have had
no existence but for the wonderful brain, energy, and foresight
of Luola Murchison Sprunt. This idea which I suggested to
the society as its specific work would have fallen to naught,
languished, and died hut for her zeal and untiring work for its
completion. Through all her life she was my tower of strength,
and without her I could have accomplished nothing. Her with-
drawal from the presidency of the Korth Carolina Society of
Colonial Dames on account of failing health, which office she
filled with such signal ability, grace, and tact for six years, was
a matter of deep concern to the society. She set a high standard
for the emulation of the accomplished Dame who succeeded her,
Mrs. E. P. Bailey, another admirable daughter of the Cape
Fear.” Mrs. Bailey’s recent death is greatly deplored, but as
president of the society she is ably succeeded by Mrs. Waddell,
widow of Col. A. M. Waddell.

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581

Mrs. Spr unt’s last report as president of the society indicates
the active work of the organization during her successful admin-
istration. The following account embraces a part only of that
work. The report itself, in its clear and succinct presentment,
attests the personal strength and ability of its author. After
mentioning the Harnett Memorial, Mrs. Sprunt stated that the
next undertakings were a contribution of the North Carolina
Society to the fund to restore the old church at Jamestown,
Virginia ; the collecting of relics, including such valuable speci-
mens as old deeds and records, personal heirlooms, rare old fur-
niture, portraits and miniatures for the Jamestown Exposition,
though these were not used, owing to the fact that the building
intended to receive them was not completed in time ; the prepa-
ration of an original program celebrating the three-hundredth
anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in Amer-
ica, and the personal gift of these programs, which were very
elaborate and compiled by prominent men of North Carolina,
by Mrs. Sprunt to the State at large.

Following this work was the carrying out of a recommenda-
tion by the biennial council of 1906 to the State societies to
bring to the next council a detailed report of historic spots not
marked by other patriotic organizations. In this task Mrs.
Sprunt brought to her assistance some of the ablest men in the
State, and seventy-eight such spots belonging entirely to the
colonial period were found. Eor this work, as well as for her
report on it, the whole country is indebted to Mrs. Sprunt. The
report was so complete and authoritative that it was published
in the minutes of the National Society of Colonial Dames, and
is now in use by the North Carolina Historical Society as data.

Then came the unveiling of a tablet at Eussellborough, com-
memorating resistance to the Stamp Act by the Cape Fear
patriots of 1766, the base of which was built of stones taken
from the ruins of Try on’s palace.

The next effort was to mark the site of Fort Johnston, the
first fort in the colony, built by act of the Assembly of 1748,
completed in 1764, and destroyed by the patriots July 18, 1775,
when the province of North Carolina forever laid aside the
sceptre of royal rule. For authorization to mark this spot Mrs.
Sprunt appealed to the United States Government through the
Secretary of War, and, the appeal being granted, the tablet was
erected in May, 1911.

In addition, a tablet to Col. Maurice Moore, founder of the

582

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

town of Brunswick in 1725, was placed in St. Philip’s Church.
This was the gift of two of Colonel Moore’s descendants — Ida
N. Moore and Selina M. Harvey. The Dames of the Cape Fear
have devoted themselves in particular to the care and preserva-
tion of the ruins of this old church at Brunswick, the site and
grounds of which were conveyed to the diocese of North Caro-
lina by the owners of Orton, Col. K. M. Murchison and Capt.
D. B. Murchison, and for some time Mrs. Sprunt assumed per-
sonal supervision of them. F or many years it has been the cus-
tom of the Dames to make an annual pilgrimage to this hallowed
spot, and there by addresses and religious services they have
awakened, perchance, a, deeper patriotism and a holier reverence
for the past of which this church represents so large a part.

Perhaps the most important work undertaken at any time by
the society was the movement to promote original research. At
the biennial council in Washington in 1906, Mrs. Sprunt was
appointed by the national president a member of the committee
on this subject, and with ardent zeal entered upon the impor-
tant task of promoting interest in the wealth of historical mate-
rial for which the colonial period of North Carolina is especially
noted, but much of which has not been compiled. To further
this effort the society offers prizes for competitive essay work,
exclusively from original sources and pertaining only to the
colonial period of North Carolina, to the upper classmen of the
State University at Chapel Hill. The results have been encour-
aging and the amounts of the prizes have been increased. Mrs.
Sprunt’s report on this subject is illuminating and valuable,
and with her interesting report on old silver and her report on
necrology, valued for its depth of spiritual perception and deli-
cate beauty of thought, has, by order of the Board of Managers,
been published by the society as literature.

The report on old silver, comprising a description of eccles-
iastical silver in North Carolina prior to 1825, was considered
of such value that Mrs. Sprunt was requested by the national
chairman to read it at the biennial council in Washington. To
her assistance in valuing these rare old specimens, Mrs. Sprunt
brought the professional knowledge of an English expert, Mr.
Jones, who came to North Carolina and examined the pieces
in the different places in the State to which they belonged.

Space fails in enumerating the full activities of the Colonial
Dames of North Carolina. What has been said pertains chiefly
to the Cape Fear, but a brief word here and there has, I trust,

Peace Restored

583

indicated in a small way, at least, the work of the society in the
State at large, and the assistance it renders, from time to time,
to the society in other States, and to the national society.

The expense of these undertakings, especially of the Harnett
Memorial, has been large, and to lighten the burden of it, Mrs.
Sprnnt, during her six years as president, entertained the Cape
Tear Dames in their monthly meetings in her heantifnl homes
in Wilmington and at Orton, saving the rental of a hall for
meetings. Her home in Wilmington, built for the first governor
elected by the people and sheltering since so many distinguished
guests, including President Taft, and, before his election, Presi-
dent Wilson, Secretary Bryan, and Cardinal Gibbons, and
beautiful Orton, one of the finest provincial homes in America,
in historic association as well as in beauty of adornment, were
an inspiration to the work, while her gracious and lavish hos-
pitality and the ardor of her enthusiasm made every effort more
delightful. In reference to her resignation, the historian of the
society, Elizabeth Stone Strange, widow of Bishop Strange,
said :

“We are called upon to hear a heavy loss in the resignation
of our beloved president. By her ability, her breadth of view,
her untiring devotion to the cause, her gracious personality, and
her generous hospitality, she has carried us onward and upward
as a society and linked us to herself by the strongest ties of love
and loyalty. While we deplore Mrs. Sprunt’s resignation as our
president, we can but show our appreciation of her by keeping
ever before us her high standard of duty, fidelity, and patriot-
ism.”

This feeling was shared by all, and, as the recent letter of
Mrs. Kidder, already quoted, indicates, the feeling of loss of
her exceptional service in the office she filled so admirably con-
stantly increases. Truly was it said of her, “Many daughters
have done virtuously, hut thou excellest them all.”

Places of Historic Interest in North Carolina Relating
to the Colonial Period Which Are Still
Unmarked.

In accordance with the resolution of the Council of 1906, in which
each State society was asked to present, through the chairman of its
delegation, a brief and concise statement of any localities still unmarked
in the State which are of sufficient historic importance to come within
the description of the objects of the society in Article 2 of the constitu-

584 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tion, the dates to be strictly colonial, I have to report the following
places of historic interest in North Carolina, relative to the colonial
period which are still unmarked.

(Signed) Luola Murchison Sprunt,

President North- Carolina Society
of Colonial Dames of America.

Wilmington, N. C., April 29, 1908.

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT.

1. Landing place of Amadas and Barlowe, Ballast Point,
Roanoke Island.

2. Memorial on Roanoke Island of the first Christian rites
celebrated on American soil.

3. Memorial at Croatan of the lost colony.

4. Durant’s Neck, at the junction of the Perquimans and
Little Rivers, the first identified permanent settlement.

5. Site of Massachusetts settlement of 1660 on the Cape Fear
River.

6. Crane Island, in the Cape Fear River, scene of the treaty
with the Indian chief Wat Coosa in 1663.

7. Hilton River, named by the explorers from the Barbadoes
in 1663.

8. Rocky Point, named by the explorers from the Barbadoes
in 1663.

9. Site of Charlestown settlement on the Cape Fear River in
1665.

COLONIAL FORTS.

10. Fort Johnston,1 at Southport, on the Cape Fear River.

11. Fort at Howe’s Point, on the Cape Fear River.

12. Fort Dobbs, near Barbour Junction, in Rowan County.

13. Old Fort, McDowell County, built against the Catawba
Indians.

14. Fort Reading, on the Pamlico River, near Bath.

15. Remains of the fort at Bath.

16. Fort Defiance, in Happy Valley, Caldwell County.

17. Nahucke Fort, near Snow Hill, in Greene County, a relic
of the Tuscarora War.

18. Fort Barnwell, on the Neuse River, in Craven County,
a relic of the Tuscarora War.

19. Scene2 of the execution of John Lawson, on the Neuse
River, in Craven County.

iMarked since the report was made.

2A monument to John Lawson has been erected in Goldsboro.

Peace Restored

585

BATTLE GROUNDS.

20. Sugar Loaf, opposite Orton, on the Cape Fear River.
Indians defeated by “King” Roger Moore.

21. Repulse of the Spanish at Beaufort in 1746.

22. Repulse of the Spanish at Brunswick in 1748.

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS.

23. Memorial at Hertford of the first sermon preached in the
colony. Preached by William Edmundson, a Quaker, at the
residence of Henry Phillips, where Hertford now stands.

24. Memorial of the Episcopal Church at or near Edenton,
the first church built in the colony.

25. St. Thomas’ Church at Bath.

26. Bethahara Church, in Forsyth County, first Moravian
settlement.

27. Hew Garden, early Quaker meeting house and school, in
Guilford County.

28. Shiloh Church, begun by the first Baptist congregation in
the colony, organized in Camden County.

29. St. John’s, early Baptist Church, in Bertie County.

30. Quanky Church, near Halifax.

31. Site of school in Hew Bern. First incorporated academy
in the colony.

32. Site of Queen’s Museum, later Liberty Hall, in Char-
lotte.

THE REGULATION.

33. Sandy Creek, Randolph County, place of meeting and
residence of Herman Husband.

34. Site of courthouse in Hillsboro where Regulator uprising
occurred.

35. Place of execution of the Regulators after the Battle of
Alamance, in Cameron grounds, at Hillsboro.

36. Phifer’s Hill, Rowan County, where the “Black Boys”
stopped the relief expedition.

COLONIAL HOUSES AND LOCALITIES OF NOTE.

37. Eden House, on Salmon Creek, opposite Edenton.

38. Tower Hill, now Snow Hill, Greene County, selected for
location of colonial capital.

39. Site of Teach’s residence at Bath.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

40. Site1 of Tryon’s residence at Brunswick.

41. Tryon’s residence at Wilmington.

42. Try on’s usual residence at Hillsboro.

43. Site of Tryon’s Palace at New Bern.

44. Site of Green House, in Edenton, where the “Tea Party”
occurred.

45. Old Government House at Bath.

46. House used for the meeting of the Assembly at Edenton.

47. The old tavern at Hertford.

48. Site of old courthouse in Charlotte.

49. Probable place of meeting of the first Assembly, on
White Plantation, in Perquimans County.

50. Spratt’s,' near Charlotte, where the first court in Meck-
lenburg was held.

51. Point where Sam Swann came out of the Dismal Swamp.

52. Quaker Meadows, Burke County, McDowell home.

53. Swan Ponds, Burke County, Avery home.

54. Orton, on the Cape Pear Biver.

55. Kendal, on the Cape Fear Biver.

56. Lilliput, on the Cape Fear Biver.

57. Hayes, at Edenton.

58. The Grove, Halifax County, the Jones home.

59. Sedgeley Abbey, on the Cape Fear Biver.

60. Site of Buncombe Hall, Tyrrell County.

61. Hilton Park, in New Hanover County, residence of Cor-
nelius Harnett.

BURIAL PLACES.

62. Hugh McAden, famous Presbyterian minister, at Bed
Horse Creek Church, in Caswell County.

63. Alexander Craighead, famous Presbyterian minister, in
Sugar Creek Cemetery, Mecklenburg County.

64. Gov. Arthur Dobbs, on his plantation, on Town Creek.

65. Gov. Thomas Pollock, at Edenton.

66. Chief Justice Eleazar Allen, at Lilliput.

67. “King” Boger Moore, at Orton.

68. Abner Nash, at Pembroke, opposite New Bern.

69. Edward Moseley. (To be located.)

70. Hugh Waddell, at Castle Haynes.

71. John Baptista Ashe, at Grovely, the Bellamy place, near
Wilmington.

^Marked since the report was made.

Peace Restored

587

72. Gen. John Ashe, on Colonel Sampson’s plantation, near
Clinton.

73. Sam Swann, at Swann Point, opposite Castle Haynes.

74. John Swann, at Swann Point, opposite Castle Haynes.

75. Original resting place of William Hooper, at Hillsboro.

76. Richard Caswell, in Lenoir County.

77. Thomas Burke, at Tyaquin, near Hillsboro.

78. Col Maurice Moore, at Rocky Point. (To be located.)

LUOLA MURCHISON SPRUNT— AN APPRECIATION.

“Death is a translation into life.”

“Those we call dead

Are breathers of an ampler day

For ever nobler ends.”

“All the gifts that were in her, penetrated as they were by spiritual
significance, told of immortality. Such a presence as hers, erect and
prophetic, was itself a pledge that its life can not be spilt as water.”

Once in a far distant time God’s messengers to man came in
glistening white, and with the majesty of angelic function de-
livered to those privileged to receive them the commands of the
great I Am. Radiant moment ! Marvelous privilege ! Wonder-
ful experience ! this talking face to face with one of the heavenly
host, but contact no more vital than is granted many now who
live day by day and year by year in close association with spirits
as truly messengers of God as the white-winged multitude.
Human are they, as we, and yet dwelling on sublimated heights ;
our companions and intimates, and yet exalted above the incom-
pleteness and the emptiness that mar the fast fleeting days with
most of us. Such was Luola Murchison Sprunt. Hers was a life
sent from God. If to any this seems a statement borrowed too
nearly from the Sacred Word, let them consider for a moment
the fruits of her life so in harmony with the requirements of
the Sacred Word. Now that the Lord, whose she was and whom
she served, has called her to higher tasks, the results of her
labors on earth are finding more fully the acknowledgment she
endeavored while living to suppress. Here a letter from a fac-
tory superintendent, voicing the gratitude of himself and his
employes for her education and care of the factory children;
here a memorial service in China expressing the deep sense of
loss in one whose arm of usefulness stretched in power across

588

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the seas to uplift and train the heathen; here letters from
patriotic societies acknowledging her exceptional service in fur-
thering their aims and in administering their affairs ; here let-
ters from church and charitable organizations telling of the
enlargement given their efforts by her personal labors and liber-
ality; here messages from an innumerable company whom she
housed, clothed and fed, comforted and gave new hope. The
intimate testimony of her friends and acknowledgments from an
extended acquaintance, from the highest to the lowliest, all are
redolent with fragrant memories of her queenly bearing, her
gracious personality, her deep spiritual discernment, her mar-
velous and fruitful service. Her activities were too numerous
to be recorded, for hers was a life that “translated truth into
conduct,” and she constantly, though unconsciously, measured
her life by the service she was able to render others. Treading
this royal pathway, she ever traveled heavenward along the way
her Saviour trod, and now that she has come to the end of that
glorious way and the great white portals have opened to admit
her to the presence of her Lord, marvelous will be the tasks He
has reserved for a spirit so harmoniously related to heavenly
requirements while on earth, and so intimately and richly pre-
pared for more exalted labors in heaven. Sent from God and
returned to God ; but the memory of the sweetness and strength
of her life, the beauty and depths of her character, the great
scope and marvelous fertility of her service she has left as a
gift in perpetuity to earth, and these shall bear fruit while time
shall last. Hot only the life but the labors and the influence of

the saints are immortal. ~ .

Samuel A Court Ashe.

Rosa Pendleton Chiles.

THE BOYS’ BRIGADE.

“How far that little candle throws its beams.”

Company A, First H. C. Regiment, H. B. B. A., the first
company of the Boys’ Brigade in Horth Carolina, and doubtless
the first in the South, was organized at Wilmington on Feb-
ruary 14, 1896, by Col. Walker Taylor, then commanding the
Second Regiment of Horth Carolina State Troops. This com-
pany was organized in the basement of Immanuel Presbyterian
Church, a mission church located in the southern part of the

Peace Restored

589

city, and subsequently Companies B and C were formed to pro-
vide for the training of boys between the ages of ten and seven-
teen. The present membership totals one hundred and thirty.

The home now occupied by the brigade is an armory given
as a memorial to a deceased friend of the organization, Capt.
William Band Kenan, and the structure is an ornament to that
section of the city. The building is thoroughly equipped for
the work, and the organization provides most effective means
for physical, mental, moral, and religious training.

For eight years the home of the brigade was in the small
basement room of the church, with the streets as drill grounds ;
and here weekly meetings were held every Monday night and
short helpful addresses made by the commander. The rule,
most faithfully kept, required the presence of every mem-
ber, unless unavoidably prevented, and the commander set the
standard, which has been lived up to in a most remarkable de-
gree by even the youngest members. From the first the com-
mander took the boys into his confidence, laid his plans before
them, expressed his deep interest in their welfare and his abid-
ing faith in their possibilities ; and from this humble beginning
has grown a force for moral uplift than which nothing greater
has ever occurred in the life of the community. The organiza-
tion is on a strictly non-denominational basis ; church member-
ship is not a condition precedent to membership in the brigade,
but attendance on Sunday-school is a condition rigidly exacted.
Of its membership fully eighty per cent are communicant mem-
bers of some church, and the light that has gone out from the
organization has penetrated into many forbidding corners, and
brought hope and courage to many to whom the best prospects
in life had been denied. The commander is a leader among
men, and doubtless his experience as a military man suggested
this form of organization for the development of young men in
whom he saw latent possibilities but to whom the fortune of
position had not offered equal opportunity for success and ad-
vancement. So thoroughly grounded has been the work among
these boys, that membership in the organization is a passport to
public confidence. In a most pronounced degree has there been
developed among them a spirit of loyalty, self-respect, ambition,
industry, sobriety, and propriety. To be a member of the bri-
gade imposes a duty, as it offers an opportunity, and the sense
of obligation following upon privilege is deeply ingrained into
the spirit of the organization.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

An account of the Boys’ Brigade has been prepared by Rev.
Dr. Wells, as follows :

“In connection with the work done by the First Presbyterian
Ohurch at Immanuel Church, in the southern part of the city,
there has been established one of the most useful institutions
in Wilmington. This is the Boys’ Brigade, now quartered at
the southeast corner of Second and Church Streets.

“On the evening of February 14, 1896, Col. Walker Taylor,
then the commander of the Second Regiment of North Carolina
State Troops, and an active worker in the Immanuel Presby-
terian Sunday-school, met with fifteen hoys and organized the
first company of the Boys’ Brigade in the South. In the char-
ter granted, Col. Walker Taylor was commissioned as captain,
E. P. Dudley as first lieutenant, and J. J. Loughlin as second
lieutenant of the new company. While growing out of Imman-
uel Church and connected with it, the work in its scope and in-
fluence has been largely undenominational. Every member has
been required to attend a Sunday-school. The brigade has been
a blessing to every church in our city, and in return has received
the cordial support and sympathy of them all.

“For eight years the brigade continued to meet in one of the
rooms connected with Immanuel Church. Then in 1904 a splen-
did armory for the organization was erected by Mrs. Henry M.
Flagler as a memorial to her father, Capt. William Rand Kenan,
an elder in the First Presbyterian Church, who had been a sym-
pathetic friend and wise counselor of the organization. The
building is of concrete, colored to represent gray sandstone. The
style is Norman, and the building, sixty by one hundred feet in
size and four stories in height, is a very massive and handsome
structure. It is complete in every detail, with large gymnasium,
ample dressing-rooms and bathrooms, library and reception
rooms, offices, large auditorium, dining-room, kitchen and pan-
try, bowling alleys, and rooms for guns and equipment. The
armory was completed in 1905, and was dedicated to the glory
of God and opened for the use of the organization on June 22
of that year. On that occasion the principal address was deliv-
ered by Hon. R. B. Glenn, then governor of North Carolina.

“A complete and useful library of two thousand volumes was
shortly after presented to the brigade by Mr. James Sprunt;
and this, with an ample supply of current papers and maga-
zines, has served to make the library of the brigade an attractive
and helpful feature of the work.

Peace Restored

591

“In September, 1905, a second company, B, was organized,
and in 1911 a third company, C. These companies, while en-
joying the training and privileges of the organization, are at the
same time ‘feeders’ from which members pass into the senior
company. The brigade now numbers one hundred and thirty
members. Mr. Charles Dushan is the efficient secretary and
physical director.

“Bible classes, weekly addresses by prominent business and
professional men, an annual ten-day encampment, athletic
games and contests of all kinds, and a helpful and instructive
winter lyceum course are all employed for the instruction and
amusement of the members.

“A notable constructive work has been done by the brigade
in the community. The little room and the wooden guns have
developed into the magnificent building and the complete equip-
ment. The little working boys have developed into some of our
city’s most valued business leaders and professional men. The
whole tone of that part of the city has been lifted, and the
community is vastly better for the work done there. And this
has been the work of one man — Col. Walker Taylor. The friend
and trusted helper of the boys when they were lads, he has con-
tinued to be their adviser and confidential friend in their moral,
religious, civic, and business life. He has made weekly talks
that have been of the greatest influence in moulding their char-
acters. He has taught them in his Sunday-school class with
vigor and power. He has visited them in their homes and places
of business. His office door has always been open for them to
tell him their troubles or joys or to seek his advice upon their
problems. And all the while he has been stamping the influence
of his strong Christian character upon their plastic lives. He
has builded well, not only in concrete but also in character.”

PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN WILMINGTON.

By W. B. McKoy.

The first public building erected in the town of Wilmington
was situated at the intersection of Market and Front Streets.
It was built by private contribution, and was called the Town
House. Under the act incorporating the town, 1739, this build-
ing became the county courthouse. I have been informed that
it was a brick building, with an open area below paved with

592

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

brick, and with open archways approached from each street ; on
the second floor was one large hall, with slate roof. The build-
ing was of oval shape and is said to have resembled somewhat
in appearance the old market house which still stands in the
streets of Fayetteville. Here town meetings, the Superior
Courts, and the General Assembly of the province were held
when they met in the town.

There was no town bell for some time, and a drum was used
to assemble people to all meetings. In 1751 a bell was pro-
cured, and Mrs. Clay was in the employ of the town for over
ten years, to sweep the courthouse above and below, to keep the
windows shut, and to ring the bell on necessary occasions.

In 1790 the building was in bad condition, and its situation
in the street endangering the spread of fire across the street, an
act was passed requiring that it should be rebuilt, on the same
spot, of brick as before, of the same size, shape, and dimensions,
and that it was to be used for no other purpose than a court-
house.

In 1840 this building was greatly damaged by fire, and the
public records were damaged by water, so that in 1845 they
all had to be copied. Many of the deeds and papers were utterly
lost at the time, as blank pages of the records now testify.

The next courthpuse was huilt on what was then called the
new jail lot, on the north side of Princess Street, between
Second and Third Streets. To the west of this new building
stood the “stocks and whipping post,” in open view from the
street, and they remained there till removed after our late War
between the States, an offensive mark of the barbarity of the
times to our now squeamish inhabitants, but no honest man had
fear of them.

More recently a new courthouse was built on Third Street,
between Princess and Market.

The first jail stood where the McPary house now stands, and
the old basement walls of that building are said to be a part of
that structure, which gave reason for the local gossip that under
that house are dungeons. It is now the most historic building
in the city, having been the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis
and Major Craig during the Revolution. The old DeRosset
house opposite, on Market Street, with its quaint chimney
stacks, is also a very old building, and this was the Confederate
headquarters in our late War between the States.

A new jail was built in the forties, at the northeast corner of

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593

Second and Princess Streets. This building still stands, but is
hardly recognized under its new dress and modern tasteful ex-
terior; should one ever probe its massive stone walls, however,
he will find that the heart of the old edifice still stands there.
I recall as a small child its massive doors, its cells, and the
heavy gratings at the openings and at the steps on each floor,
the heavy trap-doors on a level with the floor, the timbers and
boards thick and heavy. In my mind I pictured it as resem-
bling the keep of some ancient castle or fortress.

About 1850, a new jail was^ built on Princess Street, between
Third and Fourth.

The market house where meat was sold (not the fishmarket,
for that, known as “Mud Market/7 was at Second and Market,
along Jacob’s Pun, then a considerable stream, where the fish
boats came up) stood in the middle of Market Street, halfway
between the courthouse and the river. This was a long, one-
story brick building, standing there in 1766. The lower end,
towards the river, was rented out by the town as a store, and
was once occupied by DeRosset & Brown. It was from the roof
of this building that the people of Wilmington, after taking
the stamp master forcibly from Governor Tryon’s residence, on
the south side of Market Street, immediately opposite the mar-
ket, placed a rope around his neck and threatened to publicly
hang him if he did not then and there swear not to distribute
the stamps, and publicly to resign his office before the face of
royal authority.1 This building was taken down when the
courthouse was removed, and replaced by a long shed in the
middle of Market Street extending from Front Street towards
the river, supported by iron pillars and open on all sides. It
was paved with brick and fitted with wooden meat stalls and
timber sawed into chopping blocks. At the upper end was a
stairway leading to a bell tower. Before the war the bell in this
tower was rung at nine o’clock, one o’clock, and seven o’clock;
and it rang the nine o’clock curfew, which required all slaves
without a pass to leave the street.

Another public institution was at Market Dock, the ancient
ducking-stool, a chair attached to a long piece of timber which
could be swung around quite easily on a pivot and ducked into
the river, a now forgotten instrument of authority, where the
scolds of the town had their morals regulated.

!This tradition does not seem to be in accord with contemporaneous
publications.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

There was but one more building that I can recall belonging
to the public. The Innes Academy, later known as the Old
Academy Building, was a great brick structure, the first floor
of which was used as a theatre and the second as a schoolroom.
In the latter, Ghost Elliott, a famous teacher in the early days,
at one time taught. It was in this building that the comedian
Joseph Jefferson partially laid the foundation of his distin-
guished career as an actor.

The Hew Custom House.

The first government building in Wilmington, the custom
house, was built in 1846. It contained the post office, the room
used by the Federal Court, and the offices of the collector. In
1891 a new post-office building was erected. How a new custom
house is being built.

In the year 1902 a bill was introduced in Congress to make
Hew Bern the principal port of Horth Carolina and Wilming-
ton subsidiary thereto. Whatever may have been the purpose
of this action, it was followed by an immediate revival of the
commerce of Wilmington as the chief port of Horth Carolina.
One of the arguments in favor of Hew Bern was the fact that
the Wilmington Custom House was not paying the cost to the
government of its expenses, the salary of the collector, Mr. B. E.
Keith, being then $1,000, with commissions increasing it to
$1,400 or $1,500. How the salary is $2,500, and a balance
over and above all expenses has been returned to the Treasury
Department for several years.

In 1903, the aggregate receipts of the Wilmington Custom
House were $4,760, the value of exports $14,966,754 and the
imports were $290,822. The cost to the government to collect
$1.00 was $1.41. In the year 1913 the aggregate receipts were
$24,934, the value of exports $19,510,926, and the imports
were $3,460,419. The cost to the government to collect $1.00
was $0.26.

From the above it appears that the receipts of the port of
Wilmington increased 423 per cent, the value of exports in-
creased 30 per cent, and the value of imports, 1,089 per cent
within ten years.

The following official table illustrates in a condensed form
the commerce of the port of Wilmington during the years from

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595

1899 to 1915 inclusive. It will be observed that the European
War greatly reduced the volume of trade in the port year of

1915.

Fiscal Year, June 30

Vessels Entered, Foreign

Vessels Entered, Coastwise

Vessels Cleared, Foreign

Vessels Cleared, Coastwise

Entries, Merchandise

Total Receipts

Value Exports

Cost to Collect $1.00

Number Employees

Value Imports

1899

107

$ 11,093

$ 7,586,526

| .631

$ 158,887

1900

108

8,846

10,975,511

.754

109,614

1901

102

9,053

12,013,659

.773

131,475

1902

7,835

11,102,171

.893

258,358

1903

101

4,760

14,966,754

1.412

290,822

1904

8,933

19,085,221

.718

264,550

1905

4,598

17,481,566

1.416

415,295

1906

9,588

18,466,929

.663

381,890

1907

107

22,581

18,566,468

.304

805,203

1908

22,686

30,291,681

.299

878,952

1909

33,093

20,479,726

.227

1,228,945

1910

100

113

32, 684

20,922,398

.208

2,355,253

1911

156

43,639

28,804,785

.169

3,205,407

1912

161

41,272

28,705,448

.172

3,159,043

1913

154

24,934

19,510,926

.25

3,460,419

1914

231

28,844

25,870,850

.252

4,174,745

1915

109

152

18,786

11,308,535

.39

1,990,755

The collector of the port during nearly all of that time was
Mr. B. E. Keith, who has recently resigned, and his successor,
Col. Walker Taylor, appointed by President Wilson, has as-
sumed charge. A good account will be given of him, for he is
one of our foremost men in a progressive age. Of the former
incumbent there is much to be said, particularly with respect
to his sagacity and industry in carrying to a successful issue his
scheme, supported by our commercial people, for a new Fed-
eral building and extensive grounds in keeping with the dignity
of the port of Wilmington.

Collector Keith first persuaded the Secretary of the Treasury
to purchase the adjacent property, from the present custom
house building to Princess Street up to Wright’s Alley. He
then showed him a sketch which indicated the ground purchased
surrounded by dilapidated buildings, detracting from the value
of the location. This led the Secretary to send several special
agents to Wilmington, and they reported favorably upon the
collector’s suggestion that the government purchase all of the

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

property from Princess Street to Market Street, from Wright’s
Alley back to the river wharf, including a portion of the wharf
owned by the Kuck and the Calder estates, which gives us one
of the most desirable plots for a new custom house at the very
small cost of $69,000, the present value of which is estimated at
more than double that sum.

When this ground was bought the appropriation for the pur-
chase and for a new building was $300,000. To secure this
amount Collector Keith had made persistent effort, supported
by the congressmen and senators from the State. Representa-
tive H. L. Godwin, of the district in which Wilmington is situ-
ated, and Representative Charles R. Thomas, of the Third Con-
gressional District, were particularly helpful, Mr. Thomas, as
a member of the House Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds and of the sub-committee having in charge all authori-
zations for public buildings in Korth Carolina, being able to
write into the section of the bill which finally became a law the
item for the Wilmington Custom House and to push the matter
in the full committee. To him is very largely due the credit
for securing the initial appropriation of $300,000. The amount
remaining after the purchase of a site, however, was entirely
inadequate for a building and the plans for one were withheld
until appeal could b,e made to Congress for an additional appro-
priation. At a hearing before the House Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, December 13, 1912, Representative
Godwin, Collector Keith, and Mr. Joseph W. Little, of Wil-
mington, testified to the need of an additional amount, and the
supervising architect of the Treasury, Mr. Wenderoth, who was
present, named the amount required. Mr. Keith gave a graphic
description of the old building, held together by iron rods to
keep it from falling down, and of the lack of facilities for han-
dling the business of the port, which he stated had probably in-
creased more than that of any other port of the Atlantic coast.
His remarks included the very pertinent statement that many
business firms wanted to come to Wilmington to make it a dis-
tributing point, hut were unable on account of inadequate facili-
ties. Some difficulty was experienced later in securing the de-
sired amount, hut the collector and others kept up their untir-
ing efforts, and eventually, on March 4, 1913, the law was
passed which raised the appropriation for the Wilmington Cus-
tom House to $600,000.

In retiring to private life with clean hands Mr. Keith is

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entitled to the commendation of well done by an appreciative
public.

The contracts for the erection of the new custom bouse were
awarded April 15, 1916, the building to cost $368,400 and the
mechanical equipment, $37,746. These contracts call for com-
pletion within twenty-two months from April 15, 1916. The
Secretary of the Treasury states that the plans call for one of
the most complete buildings that he has ever had the pleasure
of approving, and it is stated by the supervising architect that
the room to he used by the United States Court will he one of
the handsomest in the entire country; so that Wilmington may
justly he proud of the building when completed.

James Walker Memorial Hospital.

By Dr. Robert B. Slocum.

James Walker, stonemason, contractor, and builder, was horn
at Douglas, Lenarkshire, Scotland, April 29, 1826. He came
to this country when twenty years of age and settled in Wash-
ington, where he was engaged with his brother, aged 22, upon
one of the wings of the Capitol building, later, upon the old
Smithsonian building and other important public structures.
The two brothers erected several public buildings in Peters-
burg and other cities of the South, where they were engaged
prior to the outbreak of the War between the States.

In 1857 James Walker was sent from Washington to erect
the United States Marine Hospital, which is still a prominent
building in Wilmington, after which he made his home here,
and during the war was engaged in erecting salt works on the
sounds near Wilmington, there being a great scarcity of this
necessary commodity in consequence of the Federal Blockade of
all the Southern ports.

He became a useful citizen, and was regarded as a quiet, wise,
and capable master builder. He erected the First Presbyterian
Church, the D. P. Murchison residence, on Third Street, and
many other notable buildings in Wilmington, and was engaged
for nearly ten years upon that model State institution for the
insane at Morganton.

A year or two before his death, March 15, 1901, he conferred
with his physician, Dr. W. J. H. Bellamy, and with other
friends in reference to his desire to establish a public park as
a gift to the city of Wilmington, but he was induced to supply

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

a still greater local need, that of a public hospital. The erec-
tion of this building employed his waning powers until it was
nearly finished, and when the summons for his departure came,
he entrusted its completion to his two friends, James Sprunt
and William Gilchrist. It was accomplished mainly through
the wise management of Mr. Gilchrist, who gave it his unceas-
ing attention to the end. The Wilmington Star alluded to the
simple transfer of the property known as the James Walker
Memorial Hospital as follows :

“The formal transfer to the city and county of the James
Walker Memorial Hospital took place yesterday morning at
10 o’clock on the grounds of the new building, on Dickinson
and Rankin Streets.

“The exercises attendant upon the transfer were not of an
elaborate or public nature, in conformity to the wish of the
donor, expressed shortly before his death, hut there were as-
sembled at the hospital Mayor A. M. Waddell, members of the
City Council, county commissioners, President Elliott and
members of the new James Walker Memorial Hospital Board,
and Messrs. James Sprunt and William Gilchrist, executors of
the estate of the late Mr. Walker, to whom the municipality and
county are indebted so much for the munificent gift.

“After an inforrhal inspection of the grounds and building,
the party gathered on the front veranda of the hospital and was
called to order. Mr. James Sprunt, representing the executors,
then made the speech of presentation as follows, paying an
eloquent and deserved tribute to the deceased philanthropist,
whom he represented.

“ 'Mr. Mayor and Aldermen , Mr. Chairman and Commis-
sioners :

“ ‘The devisor of this fine property, bequeathed to our city
and county for the noble purpose of relieving suffering human-
ity, was a man of humility and reserve. With characteristic
diffidence he laid the cornerstone without the usual ceremonies,
and it was his expressed wish that the necessary formalities in
the transfer of the completed hospital be free from ostentation.
We, his executors, therefore, in simplicity tender you the keys
of the James Walker Memorial Hospital, with a grateful sense
of the trust which he reposed in us, and with the hope that it
may long serve the humane object of its generous donor.’

“Mr. William Gilchrist then formally handed the keys of the

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building to Mayor Waddell, who responded very briefly and
read the deed making the legal transfer.

“Mr. Elliott next responded with a speech in behalf of the
Board of Managers which was highly fitting the occasion and
characteristic of the speaker.”

From the date of its opening to the present time this laud-
able benefaction has increased in importance until its benign
influence under its wise and beneficent directors has extended
with our increasing population to a degree not dreamed of by
its original founder.

The James Walker Memorial Hospital is governed by a
Board of Managers composed of nine men. The institution is
intended for the treatment of acute disorders, not chronic and
incurable diseases. It is necessary to draw the line between a
hospital, on the one hand, and such eleemosynary institutions
as the county home, on the other, as Mr. Walker’s intention was
to care for persons receiving the benefits of the former and not
of the latter.

Both pay patients and charity cases are admitted. Any
regular physician residing in Hew Hanover County may take a
pay case to the hospital and treat it. The hospital charges are
from $7 per week in the wards to $35 for private rooms (the
rooms vary from $17.50 to $35). The resident physician and
three internes act as assistants in these cases. Charity cases are
admitted upon permit from the county superintendent of health,
who must be sure that the patient is a resident of Hew Hanover
County, in indigent circumstances, not afflicted with a chronic
or incurable disease nor with an infectious disease. The treat-
ment of all charity cases is in the hands of the resident physi-
cian, with the assistance of the internes, and the hospital is
under the control of the resident physician. In 1914 the city
and county appropriated for the maintenance of the hospital
$15,249.99, and this year they will each appropriate $10,000.
The receipts from pay cases in 1914 were $17,438.97.

For the year 1914 there were admitted 1,407 patients, 767
white and 640 colored, 772 pay cases and 635 charity cases.
There were 19,409 days’ treatment, 7,137 being for pay cases
and 12,272 for charity cases. The average number of patients
in the hospital for any day of the year was fifty-three. The
institution can accommodate about eighty patients if they are
properly apportioned as to color and sex.

The hospital is composed of three brick structures, the prin-

600

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

cipal one being nsed for white patients and as an administration
building. The kitchen and laundry plants are in the basement
of this building. The building for colored patients, which cost
$10,000, was given by Mr. W. H. Sprunt. The first floor is
used for patients and the second for a nurses’ home. There are
twenty-eight nurses in training, with a superintendent of nurses
and one assistant. The course of training is three years. The
building for infectious diseases was given by Mr. Sam Bear, jr.,
as a memorial to his brother. While it is not the intention of
the hospital to receive such cases, they get in sometimes and
have to be cared for.

Recently the breadth of its service has been enlarged beyond
the most hopeful expectations of the management by a generous
benefaction of Mr. and Mrs. James Sprunt, augmented by a
trust fund left for this specific purpose by the late Edward
Payson George, who propose to build as a memorial to Mr. and
Mrs. Sprunt’s only daughter, Marion, an annex to the James
Walker Memorial Hospital which shall be devoted to the treat-
ment of white women and children. The quality and scope of
this loving service to the community command not only the
deepest gratitude of the hospital and of those who may share
directly in its benefits, but of the medical profession and of the
public. The following letter explains the nature and high pur-
pose of this proposed enlargement.

November 11, 1915.

Samuel Bear, Esq.,

President Janies Walker Memorial Hospital.

Dear Mr. Bear: — In August of the year 1901, I visited with my family
a so-called health resort where we were assigned apartments which
we ascertained too late were infected by recent cases of scarlet fever,
against the recurrence of which no precautions had been taken for the
protection of subsequent occupants. Our only daughter, Marion, aged
thirteen years, almost immediately fell a victim to this criminal neg-
lect and died after a very brief illness.

For many years since then my wife and I have desired in testimony
of our faith in a covenant-keeping God and in loving sympathy with His
suffering children, to erect in His name and as a memorial of our
lamented daughter a hospital for the care of maternity cases and sick
children, where their suffering might be alleviated or overcome by the
employment of modern scientific appliances and expert medical treat-
ment; and while our desire has been primarily the relief of suffering, it
was also hoped that the whole community might be benefited by af-
fording our local practitioners the opportunity of studying cases, which
can only be properly done in a well-regulated hospital, for, after all, a
good hospital is in the highest sense an educational institution of the

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first order. As Dr. Osier truly says in one of his addresses, “It makes
of the hospital a college in which .... the students learn for
themselves under skilled direction the phenomena of disease. It is the
true method, because it is the natural one, the only one by which the
physician grows in clinical wisdom after he begins practice for him-
self.” And in another lecture by the same distinguished authority I
read years ago: “I wish to plead particularly for the wasted opportuni-
ties in the smaller hospitals of our large cities, and in those of more
moderate size. There are in this State a score or more of hospitals
with from thirty to fifty medical beds offering splendid material for
good men on which to build reputations.”

Prom time to time we have by costly experiments attempted to find
a way for the fulfillment of our desire, and as you know we have also
made overtures to your board to that end, but the lack of your means
for its support at the time in conjunction with your general hospital
work has been the chief obstacle.

Believing that the development of your splendid charity will now
admit of its greater extension along the lines of our endeavor, we pro-
pose to erect as an annex to the James Walker Memorial Hospital a
modern hospital for maternity and children’s cases for both pay and
charity patients, to cost between $25,000 and $30,000, completely fur-
nished, in line with the appliances of the best equipped institutions of
the United States and with the advice of competent medical and sur-
gical authorities.

The institution is to be a part of your general hospital, supported
and maintained under its rules and regulations modified to meet the
purposes already defined, to be free from any and all political influence
or control, and dedicated and restricted to the benefit of white women
and children.

More than one-third of the sum which we propose to expend in this
cause has been left to James Sprunt and William H. Sprunt, in trust
for this specific purpose, by our daughter’s devoted friend, the late
Edward Payson George, formerly of Wilmington. The remainder will
be paid by James Sprunt and his wife, Luola Murchison Sprunt, and the
annex is to be designated and known as the “Marion Sprunt Memorial.”

My brother-in-law, Mr. Kenneth M. Murchison, an eminent architect
of New York, who drew the original plans, has kindly offered to con-
tribute his time and talents in this cause, and I respectfully request
that you will convene a meeting of your Board of Managers at your
earliest convenience to discuss this matter with him and with us and in-
spect the plans and specifications provided for your approval.

Very truly yours, James Sprunt.

The Board of Managers responded to this generous offer by
the following resolutions expressing fitting and grateful ac-
knowledgment :

Resolved, That this board accept with grateful thanks the offer of
Mr. James Sprunt and Mrs. Sprunt to erect, equip, and furnish com-
plete an annex to the hospital building of this hospital to be devoted to

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the care and treatment of children and maternity cases and to he known
as the “Marion Sprunt Memorial.”

Resolved, further, That this board express to Mr. and Mrs. Sprunt a
keen and sincere appreciation of the generous spirit and Christian pur-
pose which has actuated them in making this gift to the James Walker
Memorial Hospital, and through that means to suffering women and
children of this community, and that this board further express to Mr.
and Mrs. Sprunt its purpose and determination to do all within its
power, both now and hereafter, to see to it that the management and
administration of the “Marion Sprunt Memorial” shall be such as will
in fullest measure accomplish the high purpose for which the gift is
made.

Resolved, further, That we honor the memory of the late Edward
Payson George, who, before his untimely death, cherished a warm af-
fection for his old home in Wilmington and gave it expression in his
deed of trust to James Sprunt and William H. Sprunt of a gift of money
which, with its increment to the first of January, 1915, was to be joined
with a greater sum from James Sprunt and Luola M. Sprunt, his wife,
in the cost of the erection and equipment of a children’s hospital as a
memorial of his friend, Marion Sprunt, and in testimony of his love
for the people of Wilmington.

Resolved, further, That a copy of this resolution of thanks be fur-
nished to Mr. and Mrs. James Sprunt.

This extension will without doubt make of the James Walker
Memorial Hospital one of the best equipped institutions of its
kind in the South.'

Since the reception of this generous donation the death of
Mrs. Sprunt has occurred, and more recently that of Mr. Sam
Bear, jr., who was associated with the hospital from its organiza-
tion to the end of his life. After speaking very beautifully of
his life and character and his great usefulness as a citizen, the
Board of Managers adopted the following resolution in acknowl-
edgment of Mr. Bear’s service to the hospital :

Samuel Bear, president of the Board of Managers of the James
Walker Memorial Hospital, departed this life in the sixty-third year of
his age, on March 3, 1916, at his residence in the city of Wilmington.
Since the organization of this hospital, he has been its friend in act
and in deed. He was a member of the original Board of Managers, and
during the years that have followed, gave himself unreservedly to its
service. His interest was vital, and had its origin in a heart that loved
his fellow-man and in a genuine desire to lend a helping hand to suf-
fering humanity.

He gave of his time, of his thought, and of his means cheerfully and
unsparingly, without ostentation and without desire for praise or ap-
proval. He was elected president of this board on October 8, 1912, and
served ably and efficiently in that capacity from the day of his election
until his death. During times of stress, his great business ability was

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603

active in the service of the hospital, and the administration of its
affairs was given his close personal attention and study.

His personality was pleasing; his sense of humor keen; his sympathy
boundless, and his hand was ever ready to help those in need. He had
the affection and respect of his associates. His loss will he felt by the
entire community, hut especially by the hospital and his associates on
this board. His works will live after him.

WILMINGTON CHURCHES.

As the spiritual evolution of any section constitutes the most
vital part of its history, no local history would be complete
without some record of its churches. It is with distinct satis-
faction, therefore, that I have been able to secure from some of
the ministers and members of the churches with which Wil-
mington is blessed the following sketches of the various Chris-
tian bodies represented in this city. These sketches all show the
deep religious fervor, the holy impulse and righteous endeavor,
the unconquerable faith and glorified hope with which the
spiritual leaders of the community from early times until now
have given themselves to the accomplishment of the Master’s
work. Trusting in a great transcendent Cause, an omnipotent
Energy, a guiding Personality, a rewarding God, they have
taken their relation to Him seriously, and with deathless loy-
alty have sought to work in harmony with His eternal purpose
in the upbuilding of His kingdom on earth.

We are not all Presbyterians, but I think the Shorter Cate-
chism furnishes a question and answer to which we can all
subscribe: “What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God
and to enjoy Him forever.” No wavering philosophy, no un-
certain groping here, but profound conviction of a distinct per-
sonal relation to the Infinite whereby the purchase of eternal
happiness embraces man’s glorifying his Creator. And if man
must glorify Him, he must, within the measure of his capacity,
understand Him, so that Pope’s dictum, to the devout, is para-
phrased to read, “The proper study of mankind is God.” The
life that interprets each new experience as a revelation of God
in individual existence, each new movement in history as the
unfolding of His larger plan ; that sees each day more and more
of the steadfast purpose, each hour more and more of the in-
finite love and sweetness of the Eternal, will find itself so
dominated by spiritual verities and so held in the thrill of

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

ever-enlarging experience, that it will form the habit of the
angels, to glorify its Maker by the song on the lips sounding
forth the cadence in the soul, and in this conscious exaltation
go forward with joy doing the will of Him who is chiefly glori-
fied by faithful service.

The people of the Southern States throughout most of their
history have been more homogeneous than those of the Horth
and West, and have maintained their ancestral faiths with a
steadiness almost unknown in some parts of our country. They
have clung tenaciously to the great essentials of the Christian
system, have been quick to see the insufficiency of modern sub-
stitutes for the Gospel of God’s grace, and have turned a deaf
ear to the exponents of mushroom religions.

The churches of the South have generally maintained the
absolute authority of the Bible as the word of God, have in-
sisted upon the exclusively spiritual mission of the church, have
refrained from handling in their ecclesiastical courts political
questions, have refused to follow the protean theories of an un-
believing criticism, have declined to offer men the stone of
mere humanitarianism instead of the bread of divine grace, and
as a consequence have enjoyed a rare exemption from the
vagaries and religious fads which have mocked the spiritual
hunger of many of our people in other parts of the land. It
has been so in Wilmington. We are profoundly thankful that
no fitful religious fancy, no form of higher criticism or heresy
has invaded the counsels of our churches to disrupt them or to
mar the usefulness of their membership. Our people “know
in whom they have believed.” They have answered the ques-
tion, “Whom say ye that I am?” and have taken hold upon
God never to he free, we trust, to consider any new doctrine that
might loosen their grasp. They follow the course of humanity
and sin like the rest of the world. Held in the rushing tide of
modern life, their energies may he diverted at times from the
main purpose; hut they have laid hold upon real values and
permanent ideals and their faith maintains its integrity in the
midst of an age too largely given to doubt. May it ever he so !
Christian orthodoxy in perpetuity is a rich heritage for any
people.

Hot only have our people maintained the faith of their
fathers, hut a very deep spirituality has pervaded our churches,
and in the main their spiritual life and activity may he summed
up in the words of Hr. J owett :

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605

“We are fighting to make known the love of the Father in
the person and work of his Son, onr Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We are fighting to disperse the darkness of ignorance, to break
the chains of evil habits, to offer a solvent for the bondage
of guilt, to make an end of cruelty, to dry the tears no other
hand can touch, to transfigure sorrow, to exalt wedlock, to
glorify the home, to hallow childhood, to beautify age, to light
up death.

“This is the grand commission of the army of the Lord. Is
it worth fighting for — to unveil the infinite love of God, to
make known the great mother bird of the race, to uncover the
riches of forgiveness, to unseal the springs of freedom, to kindle
the inspiration of eternal hope, to light up the road which leads
to home and to God ?”

St. James’s Parish.

The early history of St. James’s parish, in the town of Wil-
mington, is very closely interwoven with the history of the town
itself. The settlement of the colony by English subjects estab-
lished the ecclesiastical law of England as the law of the Church
in the colony. The bishop of London was made the diocesan
of the colony, and the province of Forth Carolina became
thereby a part of the See of London.

Little attention seems to have been given the religious needs
of the colonists by the Church in England until the incorpora-
tion of The Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
in Foreign Parts in 1701.

It is in the records of the Venerable Society that we find the
first official notice of St. James’s parish. In 1736 the society
records note that “Mr. Marsden had a settlement in the parish,
and being a clergyman of the Church of England, had officiated
there for several years past.” We know, however, from local
sources, that thirty years prior to this entry the whole province
had been divided into twelve parishes, and several laws had been
passed by the colonial Legislature for the support of religion.
We also learn from the same sources that the parish of St.
James was organized in the year 1730, and that in 1729 the
Rev. John LaPierre, “a French Huguenot, who had been or-
dained by the bishop of London in 1708, and for many years
had served a congregation of his own people in South Carolina,
called St. Dennis’ parish,” came into the Cape Fear region, and

606 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

served St. James’s and St. Philip’s, Brunswick, until about
the year 1735. Mr. Marsden served only about one year, when
his appointment as missionary was withdrawn by the Vener-
able Society, and Mr. Moir was made missionary to the parish.
Mr. Moir’s labors were arduous, but his service was most suc-
cessful. He served the entire parish, from the Cape Fear
to the Reuse River, and during his first year baptized 210
persons, in his second year, baptizing 316 others. In 1742 he
was placed in charge of St. Philip’s, Brunswick, in addition to
St. James’s, and between 1742 and 1745 he reported 1,316
persons taken into the church through baptism. It will he seen,
therefore, that his labors bore much fruit. This good man
served the parish until 1747, when, because of ill health, he
removed to St. Mary’s Chapel, near Tarboro, in Edgecombe
County, where we find record of his further faithful and loving
service as late as 1765.

Prior to the year 1751 the congregation of St. James’s had
no church building, and used the county courthouse as a place
of worship. In Dr. Drane’s Historical Notices of St. James’s
parish, it is stated that the lot for the original church was given
by Michael Higgins, “a tried and true churchman.” It is
recited, however, by Colonel Waddell, in his History of New
Hanover County , that the lot was conveyed by Higgins to
James Smallwood, in June, 1745, in consideration of 200
pounds, and that Smallwood conveyed it to John Rutherford
and Lewis DeRosset, wardens, together with the adjoining lot,
the following year. The lot secured, located near the corner of
Fourth and Market Streets, was not sufficient in size for a
church and burying ground, and to remedy the situation an
act was secured from the colonial Legislature, in 1751, author-
izing the church to use thirty feet of Market Street for its
purposes.

There were three commissioners appointed by the act to build
the church. Evidently great difficulties were encountered, for
it was nineteen years after the passage of the act before the
church was completed, in 1770.

The church as built could lay no claims to architectural
beauty. It was of brick and extended thirty feet into Market
Street — a large square building, with neither steeple nor belfry.
There were three entrances, one fronting the river, one open-
ing on Market Street, and another leading into the graveyard.
The aisles were wide, paved with large square brick, and the

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607

pews were of the old English style — “double pews” that would
seat a large family, though compelling some to sit with their
backs to the chancel. The furniture was plain, with a high
reading desk and higher pulpit, surmounted by a sounding
board. It was used by the parish until 1839, and was endeared
to the parishioners by its sacred character and associations.

It has been noted that Mr. Moir left St. James’s in 1747-48.
After an interval of about seven years, he was succeeded by
Rev. Mr. McDowell, who served the parish until 1763, the year
of his death. In 1765 the Venerable Society sent Rev. Mr.
Barnett to serve St. James’s and St. Philip’s. He was suc-
ceeded in 1766 by Rev. Mr. Wills. An extract from the con-
tract made with Mr. Wills by the vestry throws a side-light on
the times and the work of the parish. His stipend was 185
pounds proc. money, and he agreed to officiate at St. James’s
eighteen Sundays during the year, at Rocky Point six Sundays,
at the sound six Sundays, at Long Creek six Sundays, at Black
River six Sundays, and at Welsh Tract six Sundays — the re-
maining four Sundays to be at his disposal.

Another incident, noted in the records of the vestry, throws
an interesting side-light and shows the temper of the times.
Under the English law, the Crown had the right of presentation
and induction of a rector in those cases where a church or chapel
was built or endowed at the expense of the Crown. In 1770,
four years after Mr. Wills’s ministry began, Governor Try on
wrote the vestry that he proposed giving him letters of presenta-
tion and induction into the parish of St. James. The vestry
replied courteously that they esteemed Mr. Wills, and were well
satisfied to employ him, but they denied that the power of pre-
sentation and induction existed within the province, and would
not agree thereto. Governor Try on, thereupon, for the time
withdrew the proposition. Mr. Wills served the parish, and
had the respect and affection of the people, until 1775-76, when
he resigned. He was the last rector under the colonial gov-
ernment.

The Revolution of 1776 put an end to the activities of the
parish for fully twenty years. Clergymen of the Church of
England, even those that remained neutral, were generally re-
garded as in sympathy with the Government of England, and
were, rightfully or wrongfully, viewed with suspicion during
the early Revolutionary period. During this long interval many
persons formed affiliations with other denominations, but some

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

held fast, awaiting the reestablishment of their own church and
parish. During the Revolution, in 1781, Wilmington became
a British Army post in America, and the church building was
seized and converted into a hospital.

There was no service in St. James’s after Mr. Wills resigned
until 1795, when the vestry reorganized, and called Dr. Hai-
ling, of Hew Bern, who served until 1809, when he retired and
moved to Georgetown, S. C., where he died a few years later.
Dr. Hailing was also the first principal of the Wilmington
Academy during his years of service in his parish.

In 1811 Rev. Adam Empie was made rector of St. James’s
and his work was most successful. He found twenty-one com-
municants when he arrived and left 102 when he resigned in
1814. He was succeeded by Dr. Judd, who served until 1816,
when Dr. Empie returned to the parish, and guided its spiritual
work until 1827, when he accepted the presidency of William
and Mary College, in Virginia. The life of the parish was
without special incident from 1827 until 1836. During those
years it was served by Rev. Mr. Motte, Rev. Dr. Cairns, and
Rev. Mr. Davis. In 1836 the Rev. R. B. Drane became rector..
It was about this time that the old church was found to be in
such bad repair that a new edifice was deemed necessary. It
was therefore determined to destroy the old building, and to
build a. new one. The new church, which is the present one,
was begun in 1839, and an interesting account of the laying
of the cornerstone is found in the Wilmington Advertiser and
the Wilmington WeeMy Chronicle , of April 5, 1839. One of
the records placed in the cornerstone recites that the old or
original church stood about fifty yards east of the present
church, near the corner of the graveyard. The lot on which
the new church was erected was purchased from Dr. A. J.
DeRosset for $1,000, of which sum the Ladies’ Working Society
and the Juvenile Working Society agreed to pay $600.

The building was designed by T. U. Walter, of Philadelphia,
and executed under the supervision of John S. Horris, of Hew
York. It was so far completed in twelve months as to be ready
for consecration. Consecration was performed by Rt. Rev. Dr.
Ives, bishop of the diocese, assisted by Dr. Drane. In January,
1843, Dr. Drane resigned as rector, to become president of
Shelby College, Ky., and was succeeded by Rev. Richard H.
Wilmer," later bishop of Alabama. Mr. Wilmer resigned on
account of ill health, in 1844, and was succeeded by Dr. Drane,

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609

who was welcomed back by bis old parishioners. The parish
prospered under bis administration and grew so that it was
determined to build another church in the city. Accordingly,
in 1853, through the efforts and principally through the sub-
scriptions of St. James’s parishioners, St. John’s Church was
built, on a lot given by Dr. DeRosset, and a new parish organ-
ized in 1860. Dr. Drane served St. James’s parish lovingly
and well until 1862, when he was stricken with yellow fever
while serving the sick and needy during the fearful epidemic
of that year. He died at his post, beloved of his congregation
and the community.

After Dr. Drane’s death, Bishop Atkinson, bishop of the
diocese of North Carolina, who lived in Wilmington, served
the parish as rector for a short time, and was succeeded by Dr.
Alfred A. Watson, who was later to become bishop of East
Carolina. Dr. Watson served during the War between the
States. An interesting incident is mentioned in the parish
records of this time. Anticipating the capture of the city by
the Federal Army, Dr. Watson had obtained authority of his
bishop to omit the prayer for the President of the Confederate
States from the regular morning service of the Prayer-book.
Upon the capture of the city, the Federal military authorities
demanded that he should eliminate the prayer for the President
of the Confederate States and substitute for it the prayer for
the President of the United States. Feeling that he had no
canonical authority to do so, and that he would thereby be a
party to the infringement of religious liberty of the church,
Dr. Watson declined to comply with the demand. Thereupon
the church building was seized and converted into a hospital
by the army authorities, the pews torn out and the building
otherwise dismantled. There was no real need for an additional
hospital, and it is reported in the records that the church buiid-
ing was never half filled with patients. The war ended shortly
after this incident.

Dr. Watson made application to the Secretary of War for
funds to restore the church, but was at first refused. There-
upon, the congregation raised the necessary funds, and by
Advent, 1865, the building was repaired and again in com-
mission for its sacred purposes. Since that time the Federal
Government has paid the church claim, and the amount re-
ceived has been expended on the church building.

Dr. Watson served the parish until he was made bishop of

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

East Carolina in 1883, when he was succeeded by Dr. Robert
Strange, who also later became bishop of the diocese. The
parish was blessed and prospered under Dr. Strange, and under
his successor, Rev. R. W. Hogue, who was rector from 1903
until 1907. Mr. Hogue was succeeded in 1909 by Dr. William
H. Milton, the present rector, under whose guidance the old
parish is moving forward in its appointed sphere with renewed
faith and vigor.

During the years since the war the parish has, for the second
time, found it necessary to expand, and the mission established
by it in the southern part of the city has prospered and has
become itself the parish of the Good Shepherd.

Standing today at the corner of Market and Third Streets,
the present church, with its earnest parishioners, constitutes a
fitting monument to the efforts that have marked the growth of
the parish through its trials and successes, its vicissitudes and
accomplishments during the one hundred and eighty-five years
of its life.

St. John’s Episcopal Church.

In 1851 St. James’s parish, then under the rectorship of the
Rev. Robert Brent Drane, D.D., had outgrown the seating
capacity of the church building, and it was decided to erect
another church edifice rather than alter and enlarge the old
historic St. James’s.

The congregation, with the approval and encouragement of
Dr. Drane, worked zealously to accomplish the undertaking.
The ground at the corner of Third and Red Cross Streets was
the gift of Dr. Armand J. DeRosset, senior warden and one of
the pillars of St. J ames’s Church.

Many of those who subscribed most liberally to the building
of the new church still retained their connection with the old.
The younger members of families joined the organization of
the new parish, while their fathers worshiped in the old, and all
worked heartily and harmoniously in the effort to erect a new
building, no one being more zealous or more ready with counsel
and assistance of every kind than the beloved rector of St.
J ames’s.

The plans of the new church building were accepted in De-
cember, 1852, and the cost of the finished structure was some-
thing over $16,000. On the 21st of November, 1853, the

Peace Restored

611

cornerstone was laid with appropriate religious ceremonies.
The members of the church formed a procession at St. James’s
Church, and, led by Bishop Atkinson and Dr. Drane, walked
to the site of the new building. As nearly as I can remember,
the stone was placed at the angle of the wall just behind where
the pulpit now stands. The ceremonies were imposing, hut my
childish recollection retains most clearly the figure of Bishop
Atkinson, with his beautiful and benignant countenance and
dignified carriage. His remarks were said to be “forcible, elo-
quent, and impressive.”

Several years passed before the congregation was able to
liquidate entirely the debt incurred in the erection of the build-
ing, but in the year 1860 this was done and the consecration
took place and the church opened for divine service on April 1,
1860.

A small organ, given by the ladies of St. James’s, was placed
in the organ alcove. The chancel furnishing was temporary
and unpretentious. The chancel window, of stained glass, and
the windows in the body of the church, of plain ground glass
with a narrow border of color, were the gift of the girls of St.
James’s.

The organization of St. John’s parish was at a called meeting
held in St. James’s Church, February 16, 1860. The organiza-
tion was effected by a declaration signed by eighty-seven adult
members. A vestry of seven was elected : Nicholas N. Nixon,

James A. Willard, S. L. Fremont, Samuel J. Person, John L.
Holmes, William L. DeBosset, and Mauger London, the first
two being appointed wardens. At the first meeting of the
vestry the following delegates were appointed to the Diocesan
Council held in Charlotte in May, 1860: S. L. Fremont, Wil-
liam L. DeBosset, James A. Willard, and Samuel J. Person,
with Henry Nutt, Bobert H. Cowan, J. J. Lippitt, and H. W.
Burgwin as alternates.

On March 16, 1860, Bev. J. A. Wainwright took charge of
the parish for one year, resigning and returning to his home in
New York at the end of that time. Late in December, 1861,
at the suggestion of Bishop Atkinson, Bev. B. E. Terry was
called and accepted the rectorship. He carried on the work of
the church with great zeal and was upheld by the whole congre-
gation. The Sunday-school prospered, the membership in-
creased, and a good voluntary choir added interest to the serv-
ice. During the eight years of Mr. Terry’s incumbency a fine

612 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

organ and a beautiful font were purchased. Also, a handsome
pulpit, given by a communicant of the church, and a memorial
tablet to Dr. Drane, who had died during the epidemic of
yellow fever, were placed in the chancel. In October, 1869, Mr.
Terry resigned and Rev. George Patterson, at that time assist-
ant at St. James’s, was called to the rectorship and assumed his
duties on Easter Monday, March 11, 1870. He continued with
the church ten years and gained the love of his people and the
good will of all the community. The inscription on the memo-
rial window placed in the church by his friends, both in and
out of the parish, testifies to the feeling entertained: “Chap-

lain Third Horth Carolina Regiment, Confederate States
Army. Erstwhile rector of this church. Faithful soldier and
servant unto his life’s end.”

Dr. Patterson was succeeded by Rev. Thomas D. Pitts, who
served two years and resigned on account of ill health in his
family, which necessitated their removal from Wilmington.

In 1883 Rev. James Carmichael accepted the rectorship of
St. John’s and served most acceptably for fourteen years.

In October, 1907, at the insistent call of the vestry and the
earnest desire of the congregation, Rev. W. E. Cox became
rector. The church has prospered greatly under his ministra-
tion and he has endeared himself to all by his earnestness of
purpose and untiring zeal in his work, his hands being upheld
by the faithful wardens, Mr. H. G. Smallbones,1 who has held
the office of warden for thirty-four years, and Mr. Washington
Catlett, who has for a long time been warden and also superin-
tendent of the Sunday-school.

Church of the Good Shepherd.

While the present site of the Church of the Good Shepherd
is at Sixth and Queen Streets, where for more than twenty
years a work of growing usefulness has been carried on, the
parish really grew out of a previous work begun in 1870, dur-
ing the rectorship at St. James’s of Dr. Watson, the late re-
vered bishop of East Carolina, in what was then known as St.
James’s Home, on the present St. James’s Square.

This valuable property was the gift of Dr. Armand J.
DeRosset, of honored memory in the church and community.
In 1870 his daughter, Mrs. Kate DeRosset Meares, opened a

iMr. Smallbones bas since died.

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613

Sunday-school and later a day-school, being assisted subse-
quently by Mrs. Rosa H. Ashe. Mrs. Meares gave herself to
this service with a rare devotion, and it was by her untiring
labors that the foundation of such a splendid work was laid.

In 1873, Mrs. Lawrence, afterwards Sister Cecilia, came to
begin her labor of love. She left behind her a sainted memory
and an influence that has been handed down from parents to
children and is still strong in the community.

In 1892, while Dr. Strange, the late beloved bishop of East
Carolina, was rector of St. James’s, the chapel of the Good
Shepherd was built on the present site of the church, and a
vigorous work carried on under the leadership of Rev. J. B.
Gibhle, assisted by an efficient corps of women, who aided in
the social and spiritual work of the mission.

Later, Miss Susie Price became resident parish worker. She
has carried on a work that can not be easily overestimated in
its beneficent influence, among the women and girls particu-
larly, a large number of whom are now enrolled in various
organizations, chiefly the Girls’ Friendly Society, with its
Junior Chapter of Candidates, the Parish Guild, and a very
devoted branch of the Woman’s Auxiliary.

A notable feature of this interesting work is the record of
the late superintendent of the Sunday-school, Mr. J. Hal Boat-
wright, who served continuously for nearly forty years, acting
also for a long time as lay reader. His was indeed a noble work
of love performed with joy.

In 1906, Rev. Thomas P. Hoe became rector, and under his
direction and inspiration the congregation began earnest efforts
to become independent and self-sustaining, and in May, 1907,
the Church of the Good Shepherd became a regular parish and
was admitted into full standing in the council of the diocese,
having been aided in this achievement by an endowment fund,
set apart for a term of years from the Armand J. DeRosset
Memorial Fund by the vestry of St. James’s parish.

Previous to this action, the hall of the Good Shepherd, a
large, commodious, and well-appointed recreation hall and
parish building, was erected in 1906, largely from this same
fund. The Deaconess House, formerly occupied by Miss Price,
has been remodeled and enlarged and a handsome rectory has
been built on the church property, which now includes about
one-quarter of a city block; and on All Saints’ Day, 1911, with
impressive ceremonies the cornerstone was laid for the present

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

handsome brick veneer edifice, which was completed early in
1913. The following resolution was passed by the vestry:
“That the cornerstone, or a suitable tablet in the new church
bear the following or an equivalent inscription : ‘Church of the
Good Shepherd, erected to the glory of God and in grateful
memory of Dr. Armand J. DeRosset.’ ”

The funds for this building were secured from offerings made
by the members of the congregation, together with an Easter
offering of $2,000 from St. James’s parish and $5,000 from the
Armand J. DeRosset Memorial Fund — a fund secured mainly
from the sale of the original site of the home.

In 1914, Rev. Thomas P. Roe resigned to become archdeacon
of the diocese, and was succeeded by his brother, Rev. W. R.
Roe, under whose leadership the parish is continuing its work
with enthusiasm and much success.

The church has grown in numbers and influence until it now
has a communicant membership of about 300, with more than
400 baptized persons, and a Sunday-school that numbers over
300 pupils, with 30 officers and teachers. The large number of
organizations for girls and boys and adults attests the wide
range of usefulness that touches every phase of community life.

In 1912, the Good Shepherd established the Church of the
Ascension, a very flourishing mission, at Third and Marsteller
Streets, which now has a large Sunday-school and kindergarten
and a growing congregation of adult communicants in a build-
ing of their own.

From its inception, the work of St. James’s Home, and later
the Church of the Good Shepherd received the faithful support
of the mother parish of St. James, whose devotion can not be
too highly praised.

First Presbyterian Church.

On the walls of the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington
there is hung a framed handbill, containing information with
reference to the erection of a house of worship for the congre-
gation of that church in 1818. It is circular in form, and
around the outer edge there is the following:

Names of Trustees and Building Committee of the first Presbyterian
house of worship erected in the town of Wilmington, in the State of
North Carolina.

There is also an inner circle containing the following names

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615

of citizens of Wilmington: Thomas Boring, Simeon Bald-

win, Bichard Parish, Archibald Taylor, John Cowan, James
Hughes Draughon, Thomas Cowan, George Cameron, Gabriel
Holmes, jr., John Macauslan, Archibald Maclaine Hooper,
John Walker, Murdock MacKay, Talcott Burr, William Har-
ris, William Edward Jury.

Within the circle this information is given:

Builders: James Marshall and Benjamin Jacobs.

Forty-second year of American Independence. James Monroe, Presi-
dent of the United States.

Cornerstone laid: The 19th day of May, Anno Domini 1818.

Building Committee: John Maccoll, Thomas Clayton Reston, William

MacKay, James Dickson, Jacob Hartman, Richard Lloyd, and Robert
Murphy.

Printed at the office of the Cape Fear Recorder,

By William Hollinshead,

For Thomas Loring.

The congregation was formally organized the year previous,
worshiping in the Episcopal Church.

The following memorandum furnished by Bev. J. K. Hall,
stated clerk of Fayetteville Presbytery, refers to the organiza-
tion.

“Under date of April 4, 1817, presbytery being in session at
Euphronia Church, there is the following record:

“ ‘The stated clerk laid before presbytery a paper containing
an authenticated copy of the deliberative proceedings of a large
and respectable number of citizens of Wilmington, who con-
vened for the purpose of forming themselves into a Presbyterian
congregation. Those proceedings bore the signatures of Bohert
Cochran, chairman, and Alexander Anderson, secretary, and
contained, in addition to the names of twenty-three trustees ap-
pointed for the management of their temporal concerns, a reso-
lution expressive of their request that this presbytery would
take the said congregation under their charge. Besolved, That
the prayer of this petition he granted, and that presbytery
promise these petitioners all the aid in their power, either in
procuring a minister, or in promoting in other respects their
spiritual interests. Ordered, That the Bev. Colin Mclver he,
and he hereby is appointed to preach to the Wilmington con-
gregation, at least one Sabbath before the time of the next
stated session of this presbytery. Ordered, That an authenti-
cated copy of the above preamble, resolution, and order be
transmitted to them by the stated clerk/

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

“Rev. Artemus Boies was ordained and installed pastor of
the Wilmington church May 12, 1819, at an adjourned meeting
of presbytery in Wilmington. The church is reported vacant
until this time.”

For many years prior to that, Presbyterian ministers had
visited Wilmington, where there had been more or less of a con-
tingent of that denomination among the Scottish residents and
others who had been reared in that faith. The first sermon
preached in Wilmington by a regular Presbyterian minister was
by Rev. Hugh McAden on February 15, 1756. He was fol-
lowed by other missionaries who came from the North and from
Scotland to work among the Presbyterian settlers in the Cape
Fear section. Rev. George Whitefield, the Calvinistic-Methodist
preacher and great evangelist of the eighteenth century, visited
Wilmington and preached on December 29, 1739. He also
preached in the town on March 29, 1765, and perhaps at other
times.

The church built in 1818 was on Front Street between Dock
and Orange. The cornerstone was laid with Masonic cere-
monies. Its existence was of short duration, for it was de-
stroyed by fire on November 3, 1819. Meantime, Rev. Artemus
Boies had been installed the first regular pastor of the church
on May 12, 1819.

A new building was erected, but it also suffered destruction
by fire on April 13, 1859, when another site was chosen for the
erection of a church for the congregation. This was on Third
and Orange Streets. There was no insurance on the old church,
and a subscription towards the new building was started on the
spot at the time of the fire. On the evening of the same day a
meeting was held in the office of James H. Dickson, M.D., and a
committee was appointed to secure further subscriptions. At a
later meeting, the sum of $14,000 was reported as having been
raised. The new building was subsequently erected at a cost
approximating $20,000, in addition to the cost of the lot, and
was dedicated on April 28, 1861. It still stands, and is used
by a congregation which has become noted throughout the South
for its missionary and evangelistic influences. The present
membership of the church (1915) numbers eight hundred and
forty-nine ; and, besides its large benefactions to other religious
objects, it maintains a considerable foreign mission enterprise
at Kiangyin, China, and numerous missions and chapels in its
immediate section of North Carolina.

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617

The ministers who have served the church are: Revs. Arte-

mus Boies, Leonard E. Lathrop, Noel Robertson, Thomas P.
Hunt, James A. McNeill, W. W. Eells, Thomas R. Owen, J. O.
Stedman, M. B. Grier, D.D., Horace L. Singleton, D.D., A. E.
Dickson, D.D., Joseph R. Wilson, D.D., LL.D., Peyton H.
Hoge, D.D., and John M. Wells, Ph.D., D.D. President Wood-
row Wilson was a youth when his father, the late Dr. Joseph R.
Wilson, served the church as its pastor.

As illustrating the missionary and enterprising spirit of the
church, it might be stated that on November 6, 1858, fourteen
persons were dismissed to form the Second Presbyterian Church,
which later became St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church ; also,
that on March 1, 1859, a plan was formed to build a mission
schoolhouse in the southern part of the city, which later devel-
oped into Immanuel Presbyterian Church. This was before
the burning of the old church on Front Street. A lot for the
use of the mission was donated by John A. Taylor.

Seven ministers have gone out from the First Presbyterian
Church: Revs. Thomas R. Owen, Sidney G. Law, George W.
McMillan, William H. Groves, Alexander Sprunt, William E.
Hill, and Andrew J. Howell. It has also furnished the follow-
ing foreign missionaries, who are at this time laboring in China :
George C. Worth, M.D., and his wife, Mrs. Emma Chadbourn
Worth, of Kiangyin, and Miss Jessie D. Hall, of Tsing-Kiang-
Pu, who is supported entirely by the Jane Dalziel Sprunt Mis-
sionary Society, composed of her immediate family and rela-
tives. The foreign mission force entirely supported by the
church numbers thirteen, all of them in China, besides twenty-
five native helpers. In addition, there are several home mission-
aries and mission school teachers connected with the church.

The large addition to the church building, containing the
Anniversary Hall and the Chadbourn Memorial Hall, was com-
pleted in 1894 and bears an important part in the activities of
the congregation.

As a matter of general historic interest, which affected the
life of the Presbyterian Churches of the city, as well as those
of other denominations, mention should be made of the great
revival of 1858, and the special services conducted by noted
evangelists since as follows : Rev. R. G. Pearson, beginning
March 18, 1888 ; Rev. D. L. Moody, beginning March 18, 1893 ;
Rev. R. A. Torrey, D.D., beginning March 6, 1910; and Rev.
J. Wilbur Chapman, D.D., and Mr. Charles M. Alexander, be-

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ginning April 9, 1916. The Chapman meetings were especially
remarkable, enlisting the interest of practically the whole city,
and awakening in onr people generally a sense of the riches,
beauties, and privileges of the Christian life. As many as 5,000
men attended one service, and at another all the fraternal socie-
ties of the city attended in a body. More than 1,000 members
were added to the churches, and a vast number already com-
municants expressed renewed and deepened spiritual life.

The closing exercises were marked by a procession of 5,000
Sunday-school children, with banners flying, through the prin-
cipal streets to the Tabernacle, headed by Dr. Chapman and his
fellow-workers. It was an affecting and inspiring scene, and
will live for many years in the minds and hearts of those who
witnessed it.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.

The Second Presbyterian Church, the name of which was
later changed to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, was organ-
ized by the Presbytery of Fayetteville on November 21, 1858,
with fourteen members from the First Presbyterian Church,
who erected for the new church a building on Chestnut Street
between Seventh and Eighth. This still stands, but was sold to
the Presbyterian negroes of the city in 1867, for whom it has
had a useful career as a place of worship.

The congregation of the Second Church worshiped in Brook-
lyn Hall, in the northern part of the city, until 1873, when a
new house of worship was erected for its use on Campbell Street
near Fourth. It was dedicated on May 4 of that year. This
building served for the worship of the church for several years,
until the increasing membership demanded a larger structure.
Another building, therefore, on the corner of Fourth and Camp-
bell Streets, was erected, and dedicated on June 9, 1889. It
still stands, but additions have been made from time to time
to meet the growing requirements of the congregation. The
organization now numbers 589 members.

The original house of worship on Campbell Street has re-
cently given place to the handsome memorial building which is
attached to the church.

Rev. Martin McQueen was the first minister to supply the
pulpit of the Second Church. He began his work in January,
1850, and continued until December, 1863. Thereafter for

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seven years the church had no regular minister ; but, beginning
in November, 1870, the pulpit was supplied for about three
years by Rev. H. B. Burr. Then, after an intermission of
several months, Rev. C. M. Payne, M.D., D.D., was called as
the first regular pastor. He began his ministry on June 1,
1874, and continued as pastor of the church for about ten years.
During his ministry the church had a large growth. Rev. J. W.
Primrose was installed pastor on January 11, 1885, and served
the church until December, 1890, when he was dismissed to
become an evangelist of the Synod of Missouri. The church was
without a pastor until July 1, 1891, when the Rev. Alexander
D. McClure began his labors as pastor of the congregation. Por
twenty-four years he has been the wise and beloved leader of the
religious life of his people, and has been closely identified with
nearly every Christian and benevolent enterprise of the city.
Reference is frequently made to Dr. McClure now not as pastor
of St. Andrew’s, but as “pastor of Wilmington.”

The change of name from the Second Presbyterian Church
to St. Andrew’s was made on September 19, 1888, by vote of
the congregation. This was just prior to the building of the
more commodious structure.

The congregation of St. Andrew’s enjoys a large share of
religious leadership in Wilmington. They also maintain an
important missionary interest in foreign lands and at home,
supporting Rev. and Mrs. L. T. Newland, of Kwang-Ju, Korea,
and Mrs. J. McC. Sieg, of Congo Beige, Africa.

Prom St. Andrew’s Church grew the Pearsall Memorial Pres-
byterian Church, in East Wilmington, whose building was
erected through the beneficence of Mr. Oscar Pearsall, then an
elder of St. Andrew’s, but now of the Pearsall Memorial
Church.

A Layman’s Recollections.

(Remarks of the author on the fiftieth anniversary of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church,
Wilmington, N. C., November 22, 1908.)

In response to Dr. McClure’s kind request I have noted a few
memories of the days of my youth connected with the origin
of your church organization.

I shall refer briefly to the parent church, from which it
sprang, and to its beloved minister, whose sermons often lulled
me to sleep before I was old enough to understand the great
truths which he expounded. I recall the soothing, soporific effect

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of his sonorous voice upon my drowsy spirit when he spoke in
minor tones, and the painful excitement of his sudden high-
pitched exclamations, which roused me with an abashed and
startled countenance from fitful dreams. And I remember,
while being nudged with expressive gestures by my parents to
keep awake, how I longed to sink out of sight upon the floor of
the pew and yield to the over-mastering desire for undisturbed
repose.

How often in more recent years, when the cares of business
made the burden of life almost insupportable, have I longed to
hear one of those delightful sermons of my childhood, when the
voice of the preacher, meaningless to me then, like the droning
of a bee soothed the tired senses until they sank unconscious
into the arms of Heath’s twin-brother, Sleep.

One of the great events in the church history of Wilmington,
which I believe under the hand of God led to your original
founding, was the wonderful revival of the Holy Spirit in the
hearts of the Wilmington people in the year 1858. I was then
eleven and a half years of age, and attended with my parents
and brothers and sisters the First Presbyterian Church on
Front Street, which I saw burned to the ground afterwards, and
I also attended the morning session of the Sunday-school which
was held in the lecture-room in the rear of the church building,
and which still stands in the alley opposite our present Front
Street market house. I can remember my first tottering steps
when I was learning to walk, but I can not remember the first
time I attended church: it must have antedated even that re-
mote period.

Mr. Pohert Gibbs was the superintendent, and a Mr. Sher-
wood, who was a merchant of Wilmington, was my teacher.
The pastor of the church was the Rev. Matthew B. Grier, a
scholar and a gentleman of the old school, who was perhaps
more generally respected and honored in the town of Wilming-
ton than any other minister of his time. He was a man of
attractive and striking personality, of about six feet stature,
remarkable intellectual attainments, most courteous and refined
deportment, singular grace and ease of manner, and of extreme
punctiliousness with reference to his immaculate clerical dress.

It was his custom to make regular visits, or visitations, upon
the families of his congregation every month, and I have often
recalled with great amusement some of the occasions when he
visited my father’s family and examined us with reference to

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that indispensable qualification of our faith, the Westminster
Shorter Catechism.

I remember that his visits were timed for Saturdays, or after
school hours on week days, so that no excuse would he valid
with reference to other obligations. I recall also our brawny
Scotch nurse, fresh from the Highlands, whose duty on the occa-
sion of the minister’s coming was to corral the youthful mem-
bers of the family and prepare them by careful scrubbing and
change of clothes for the ordeal of his examination.

About that time I had developed a remarkable fondness for
the breeding of pigeons and possessed a flock of different varie-
ties numbering forty or fifty, all told. These pigeons were
known and recognized by familiar names, and to an especially
fine pair of white fantails I had given the names of our pastor
and his dignified wife. On one occasion the alarm was given
to the boys at play that the minister was approaching and that
we were to prepare for presentation. My two brothers and I
immediately took refuge under a storehouse in the yard, from
which we were ignominiously dragged by our heels by the
Scotch nurse, and after a careful overhauling were sent into the
house to be catechised. One of our number, however, escaped
(I think it was our brother from Charleston). I may mention
at this particular juncture that the female fan-tailed pigeon,
already referred to by name, had been missing for several days.
You can imagine the consternation of our good mother, while
we were being examined on the question of “Effectual Calling,”
to hear from the back yard an excited and effectual call to us
by the brother aforesaid, “Come out, come out, Mrs. Grier has
alighted on the top of the stable!” The reassuring “Ha, ha,”
of our good pastor, however, relieved our embarrassment, and
this incident, with his better acquaintance, established our
hearts in mutual affection.

The personnel of the white members of the original organiza-
tion of the church on Chestnut Street is doubtless well known
to you, but I think that the excellent character of our colored
members has not been sufficiently emphasized. I recall William
Cutlar, Alfred Hargrave, Henry Taylor, and George Price, sr.
They were all superior persons, skilled craftsmen, intelligent,
courteous, self-supporting, and generally respected in this com-
munity, as their worthy sons are respected who are here tonight.

After they had bought and occupied the original building and
engaged a talented colored pastor, named Rev. D. J. Sanders,

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Alfred Hargrave was a ruling elder, and when the clergy of
another denomination occupied the colored churches during
their convention, or conference, here, a fervid preacher with
great lung power conducted the Chestnut Street Church service.
As his voice rose in a “powerful” prayer, so rose a feeling of
great disgust and resentment in the mind of our dignified
colored elder, who did not like such “doings,” as he expressed
it. When the voice of the preacher could be heard two blocks
away, old Alfred Hargrave arose and with great dignity
marched up to the pulpit, and, laying an accusing hand upon
the shoulder of the astonished shout er, said loud enough for all
the congregation to hear, “My brother, the Lord ain’t deef,”
which had the desired effect.

I have referred to the great revival in Wilmington, which
included all classes and denominations, in the year 1858. The
daily morning prayer-meetings of our church on this occasion
were held in the lecture-room, already described, immediately
after an early breakfast, before the opening hour of the secular
schools, and I remember that we carried our schoolbooks with
us and sat in awed silence through the mysterious manifesta-
tion of God’s holy presence. The building was crowded to the
door, and the whole congregation was deeply moved by emotions
which can not be described.

One morning a stranger in our assembly arose and made the
most beautiful address I have ever heard. I think he said he
had missed his railroad connection, and that while he was aim-
lessly walking on Front Street he was drawn to our meeting by
the sound of the sacred music, and that he too had felt the power
of that mysterious presence of the Spirit which was moving
upon the hearts of us all. This stranger proved to be the Lev.
Dr. J. L. Girardeau, of Charleston. He was subsequently en-
tertained at my father’s house, and then began a friendship
with us all which lasted throughout his honored life.

When my father canvassed the means for a new church or-
ganization, to be known as the Second Presbyterian Church, hut
miscalled by some — very much to his annoyance — the Presby-
terian Chapel, we lived on Princess between Eighth and Ninth
Streets, and I remember that this street was in its primeval
condition of deep sand without even a sidewalk, in a part of
the town very sparsely settled.

When, after many deliberations and misgivings, a site for
the Second Church had been selected on Chestnut Street he-

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tween Seventh and Eighth Streets, we plodded through the deep
sand daily, watching the progress of the building, the total cost
of which was, I think, $2,500.

The church building was erected under contract with a Mr.
Moody, and the progress to completion was watched with anx-
ious interest by the little band — a mere handful — which formed
its original membership. Conspicuous among these were my
father, Alexander Sprunt, John C. Latta, John R. Latta, John
Colville, and others, all of whom have gone to their reward.

It is a remarkable fact that the exterior of the original build-
ing on Chestnut Street has not been repainted in fifty years.
When it was painted after its erection, the first coat of color was
sanded by the usual process in imitation of brownstone. This
has withstood the exposure of half a century. I examined the
exterior a few days ago and found it in an excellent state of
preservation, with the exception of the pillars and front, where
the paint was visibly wearing away.

While I write these lines my eyes have fallen upon an item
in a newspaper entitled, “A Strong Church/7 which reads as
follows :

“Is it a strong church?” asked a man respecting a body of wor-
shipers.

“Yes,” was the reply.

“How many members are there?”

“Seventeen.”

“Are they so very wealthy?”

“No, they are poor.”

“How, then, do you say that it is a strong church?”

“Because,” said the gentleman, “they are earnest, devoted, at peace,
loving each other, and striving to do the Master’s work. Such a con-
gregation is strong, whether composed of five or five hundred members.”

Such, I think, may he said of the little band of workers which
composed your original membership. The spirit of the work
entered into the heart of every one of our household and each
had something to do in connection with it. My mother solicited,
in person, contributions large and small for the purchase of a
bell, and although fifty years have passed since the first peal
resounded in my delighted ears, I never hear it now without
recalling my personal attachment for it.

There was an underlying principle involved in the origin of
this church to which I would ask your serious thought. The
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The ancestors
of your founders sealed their devotion with the sacrifice of their

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lives upon the bleak moors of Scotland. Your original members
in turn gave liberally of their scanty substance with their lives
of service. There was not one of them whose income for the
support of a large family exceeded fifteen hundred dollars a
year, and there was not then the full blessing of free schools,
which you enjoy; and yet they rejoiced in pinching from their
necessaries of life a liberal share for God’s glory.

I could not tell you without emotion too deep for words, a
memory too sacred for utterance, of the secret personal sacrifice
of a saint of God, who, I believe in my heart, did more than all
others for the upbuilding of this church, and in whose crown
of rejoicing there shines with resplendent glory the gems of
sacrifice and service.

Men and women of St. Andrew’s, take it to your hearts, teach
it to your children, that the foundation of your beloved church
was Christ the Lord in the hearts of His people, who cemented
it with willing service and personal sacrifice and who watered
it with a woman’s loving tears.

The first sexton of the Chestnut Street Church fifty years
ago was Henry Price, who is present and who will now make
his bow to the congregation.

Upon him devolved the duty on Saturday of opening the
windows, sweeping and dusting the church, and making the
fires in the two stoves in the rear of the building, and I was
delegated by my father to assist him, particularly in the ring-
ing of the bell on Sunday. Many a painful quarter of an hour
have I spent in tugging at that bell-rope, when my strength was
not equal to the task, but I recall this experience with feelings
of gratefulness that I was permitted to make some sacrifice in
the cause of a church which has been so blessed of God. My
younger brother, John, had his duty to perform, and a most
unpleasant task it was to him, because his was a retiring and
modest disposition and the duty which my father imposed upon
him made him conspicuous in the morning and evening service.

My father, true to the traditions of his Scotch training, re-
garded instrumental church music with disfavour and advo-
cated congregational singing, which he led with the assistance
of a tuning fork. Hone of our family thought much of my
father’s gift of singing, and when he broke down in leading the
psalm or hymn by trying to adapt a long-metre verse to short-
metre music, we boys slyly poked each other with unbecoming
levity, for which we were afterwards duly punished.

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625

After my father determined to adopt an old Scotch practice
of exhibiting against the pulpit the name of the tune which
the congregation was expected to sing, when the preacher gave
out the psalm or hymn, my brother John was required to per-
form the duty of putting up the sign, which he thoroughly de-
tested, and I would not like to say how many times he was
corrected at home for insubordination.

In course of time the inevitable choir was formed and John
was relieved of this unpleasant duty, but I think that box of
gilt signs is still in the possession of the family.

In later years, when we were divided between the First
Church and the Second, my youngest brother, William, chose
the duty and the privilege of joining his parents in their devo-
tions at the Second Church, to which they had given the serv-
ice of their consecrated lives. For years he sat in the foot of
the buggy and drove them from our home on FTinth Street to
the little building which has since become your lecture-room,
and in time he took up the work which was laid down by his
father when he entered into rest some five and twenty years ago.
How faithfully and how well he has served the Master and
this congregation it is not becoming of me to speak. But I may
he permitted to say, in all humility, that we are thankful to
God and that we are proud of the record of our father and of
his youngest son in this beloved church of their choice. It is
also of much satisfaction to us that another brother has been in
recent years added to its membership.

This secluded sanctuary has been in peace and in war, in pes-
tilence and in famine, a refuge for God’s people. Only four of
its original members survive; the others have joined that “great
multitude which no man can number” and “which came out of
great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them,
nor any heat; and God has wiped away all tears from their
eyes.”

“Ah, Christ, that it were best
For one short hour to see
The souls we loved,

That they might tell us
What and where they be.”

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

Immanuel Presbyterian Church is an outgrowth of the mis-
sionary spirit of the First Presbyterian Church. For many
years the latter had maintained a mission Sunday-school and
industrial classes in the southern part of the city, making use
of different locations for the purpose. The work had a very
substantial growth, so that in May, 189(1, it was decided to
erect a new building on the site which had been used, near the
corner of Front and Queen Streets, the building to be called
Immanuel Chapel. Ground was broken on May 26, and the
structure was completed before the end of 1890. A very mate-
rial subscription towards the new building was obtained from
a legacy left by Mrs. E. E. Burruss. The remainder of the
cost was met by subscriptions from members of the First Pres-
byterian Church.

The first service was held in the new chapel on January 4,
1891, and on February 1, 1891, it was dedicated to the wor-
ship of God, Rev. Dr. Peyton H. Hoge preaching the sermon
from texts illuminated on the walls of the building.

Mr. J. M. W. Elder, who later became an ordained minister,
took charge of the work of the mission as a lay missionary on
January 1, 1888. 7 He was succeeded by Rev. William McC.
Miller, of Virginia, in October of that year. Later, the pulpit
of the chapel was supplied in turn by Revs. George H. Cornehl-
son, jr., B. E. Wallace, P. C. Morton, E. E. Lane, J. C. Story,
and C. W. Trawick, until March 1, 1904. On May 16 of that
year Rev. J. S. Crowley, who had served as a missionary in the
Congo region of Africa, became stated supply, and continues
to fill the pulpit at the present time.

Immanuel Church is now a separate organization, although
its support and the personnel of its workers are to a large extent
obtained from the First Presbyterian Church.

It has had a large and abiding influence in the moral and
religious uplift of the people living in the southern part of
Wilmington ; and the long pastorate of Mr. Crowley has
brought a large growth to the membership of the church, which
now numbers two hundred and thirty-three.

In connection with Immanuel Church, Immanuel kinder-
garten is maintained, and has proved to be a great blessing to
the children of that section of the city. Also, as an outgrowth

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627

of the work of the church, the Boys’ Brigade came into exist-
ence.

Immanuel Building, standing on the corner of Front and
Queen Streets, was erected a few years ago through the benefi-
cence of Mr. James Sprunt, to be used for religious, educa-
tional, and social purposes in connection with Immanuel
Church. Mr. Sprunt also gave the two residences adjoining for
the use of the church.

Other Presbyterian Churches in Hew Hanover County.

There are other Presbyterian Churches in Hew Hanover
County, some established at a very early date.

Mention has been made of the Pearsall Memorial Church, in
East Wilmington, in connection with the sketch of St. Andrew’s
Church.

The Winter Park Presbyterian Church is an outgrowth of
the mission work conducted by the First Presbyterian Church
in the Chadbourn Memorial Chapel at Winter Park Gardens.
This chapel was built by Mr. James H. Chadbourn, jr., as a
memorial to his children, George and Blanche. Services were
first conducted there by Rev. J. M. Wells, D.D., and Rev. J. M.
Plowden. Later, the work fell into the hands of Rev. Andrew
J. Howell, laboring under the direction of the session of the
First Presbyterian Church. There is a present membership
of eighty-two, and the prospects are bright for a large growth
in the near future. The congregation was duly organized as a
separate church on December 14, 1913, with Mr. Howell as
stated supply. With consent of the Chadbourn family, the
Memorial Chapel has been moved to another location on the
same lot, and a new church of brick, of colonial style of archi-
tecture, has just been completed and handsomely furnished.
The modern arrangement and complete furnishings of this
church building afford conveniences unsurpassed, and its great
usefulness as a house of the Lord is clearly foreseen. Its
grounds have been tastefully laid out and beautified, and the
opinion expressed by many is that no more attractive and sub-
stantial church edifice and grounds are to be found in the Cape
Fear section. The whole is the gift of Mr. James Sprunt, who
erected the church as a memorial to his sister, Mrs. Margaret
Tannahill Hall. Mrs. Hall was a devoted member of the First

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Presbyterian Church of Wilmington. Over the main entrance
is a marble tablet with the following appropriate inscription :

Winter Park Presbyterian Church,

Erected to the glory of God and as a
Perpetual memorial of
Margaret Tannahill Hall,

Beloved wife of B. F. Hall and
Daughter of

Alexander and Jane Dalziel Sprunt.

A. D. 1915.

The edifice was dedicated on March 5, 1916. The cere-
monies were imposing and the attendance so large that the
building could scarcely accommodate all. The sermon on this
occasion was preached by Rev. Alexander Sprunt, D.D., of
Charleston, S. C., a brother of Mr. James Sprunt and Mrs.
Hall.

Bethany Presbyterian Church is a mission conducted by the
Pirst Presbyterian Church. The handsome little structure
used by the congregation was built in 1912 as a gift of Mr.
James Sprunt. It was dedicated on November 10, 1912. The
work is in charge of Rev. Andrew J. Howell, and succeeded the
religious services formerly conducted in a schoolhouse which
was the property of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Lineker, English
people who settled in that section of the county. The school-
house is now known as the “Lineker Memorial Hall.”

The Delgado Presbyterian Church is also a mission sup-
ported by the First Presbyterian Church at Delgado Cotton
Mills, which are now located within the corporate limits of the
city. The work began as a Sunday-school on January 8, 1905,
under the superintendency of Mr. Andrew J. Howell, then an
elder of the First Presbyterian Church, who later became a
minister and was placed in charge of the mission. In the mean-
time, the Rev. J. M. Plowden served the church as Supply for
several years.

The influence of the Delgado Church has been very great in
the southeastern part of the city, and the employees of the
Delgado Mills are indebted to it for many of the religious
advantages which they have enjoyed.

In connection with the Delgado Church, Marion Mission is
maintained by Mr. James Sprunt, who erected for it a hand-
some building in 1907. A kindergarten is conducted in the

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building during the school months, and a daily luncheon served
to the children. The rooms are also used for Sunday-school
and social purposes.

In addition to the above, a Sunday-school is conducted by the
First Presbyterian Church, under the superintendency of Mr.
G. C. Bordeaux, at Sunset Park; and Dr. McClure, of St. An-
drew’s, preaches regularly at Castle Haynes, with the end in
view of establishing a Presbyterian mission at that place when
interest develops sufficiently.

The First Presbyterian Church has a chapel on the corner of
Twelfth and Queen Streets, in which it supports a Sunday-
school for colored people ; and St. Andrew’s maintains a similar
work on the corner of Eighth and Harnett Streets. Rev. W. M.
Baker, who graduated from the Union Theological Seminary,
took charge of this work for both churches on June 15, 1913,
and still has it in hand.

Grace Methodist Episcopae Church.

Prior to 1886, the leading Methodist Church of Wilmington
stood on the northeast corner of Front and Walnut Streets. It
was the Front Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The exist-
ence of the church dated far back into the earlier life of the city,
and it included many of its influential families. The first or-
ganization of Methodists in Wilmington was formed on Decem-
ber 24, 1797. This was the beginning of the Old Front Street
Church.

The leading spirit of early Methodism in the city was Wil-
liam Meredith, who died in 1799, leaving a dwelling and a
chapel to the church. He made provision, also, for the enlarge-
ment of both, and in a few years a congregation of 1,500, whites
and blacks, was reported as worshiping in the enlarged church.

In 1800, Hathan Jarrett was appointed the first regular
preacher of the church, which was at that time made a “station,”
according to Methodist custom.

In 1843, a fire which devastated a large part of the city de-
stroyed the commodious structure which the congregation had
used for many years as a place of worship. In it the fervid
oratory of many Methodist divines of former years stirred the
members to a deep religious life. In the gallery, there was
always present a considerable number of negro slaves, joining
in the worship of God with their masters, who sat in the main

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auditorium. This custom was general with the churches of the
city, hut was particularly noticeable in the Methodist Church.

After the fire of 1843 the church was rebuilt on the same site.
This structure, which presented an imposing appearance, met a
fate similar to that of its predecessor, for it was destroyed by
the great conflagration of February 21, 1886. In it also were
heard many prominent Methodist preachers. It was a favorite
church with Bishops Whiteford Smith and William Capers,
whose names are preserved in some of the older families of
Wilmington.

Surrounding the church was the graveyard, with numerous
vaults against the outer wall of the enclosure. After the fire
of 1886, as many as practicable of the gravestones and bodies
were removed to Oakdale Cemetery. The remains of William
Meredith, which had been buried under the porch of the- old
church, were removed to the new Grace Church, where they
now rest under the pulpit.

When the second church structure was burned, the Temple of
Israel, or Jewish synagogue, located on the corner of Fourth
and Market Streets, was tendered to the congregation for use,
and for two years the Methodists worshiped there, thus proving
the benevolent spirit of the Hebrew citizens of Wilmington.

The lot on the corner of Front and Walnut Streets was sold
and a new location acquired on the corner of Fourth and Mul-
berry Streets, where the present Grace Methodist Episcopal
Church was erected and its lecture-room occupied for the first
time in the spring of 1888. The edifice stands as a handsome
and worthy memorial to the faith and principles of Methodism.
Its present membership is about 820. Through the influence
of members of Grace Church, the name of Mulberry Street was
changed to Grace Street.

As a matter of interest, it may he stated that in earlier years
the Methodists of Wilmington were under the supervision of the
Virginia Conference, and later were placed under the care of
the South Carolina Conference; so that for some time there
was a division among them between the conferences. Later, the
church was under the sole control of the South Carolina Con-
ference; and when it was proposed to have the North Carolina
Conference take over the Wilmington church, there was a stub-
born protest among several of the leading members, the effects
of which were not overcome for many years.

Among the ministers who served the Front Street (now

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Grace) Church may he mentioned Rev. Jonathan Dally, Rev.
Charles F. Deems, D.D., Rev. R. S. Moran, D.D., Rev. James
Mann, D.D., Rev. E. A. Yates, D.D., Rev. Frank Wood, Rev.
W. S. Creasy, D.D., Rev. W. C. Forman, Rev. R. A. Willis,
Rev. A. P. Tyer, Rev. John FT. Cole, Rev. N. M. Watson, Rev.
T. A. Smoot, D.D., Rev. J. C. Wooten, and Rev. J. D. Bundy.

Fifth Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church.

The name of the Fifth Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
was changed in 1915 from the Fifth Street Methodist Episcopal
Church, which name it had borne since its organization, about
the year 1847.

Located in the southern part of the city, the Fifth Avenue
church, throughout its long history of about sixty-eight years,
has had a strong hold upon the Methodists in that section of
Wilmington. Its membership now numbers about 750.

The old Fifth Street Church was originally a wooden struc-
ture, hut this was torn down in the year 1889 to give place to
the present handsome building of brick, which is an ornament
to the neighborhood.

When the present building was erected, it was equipped with
chimes, which are well remembered as pealing forth before
every service some of the old tunes of the Christian church;
hut after a few years the chimes were given up.

Among the ministers who have served the Fifth Avenue
Church may he named Rev. T. Page Ricaud, Rev. D. H. Tuttle,
Rev. R. C. Beaman, Rev. L. L. Nash, D.D., Rev. W. L. Cun-
ninggim, Rev. J. H. Hall, Rev. S. M. Shamburger, Rev. A.
McCullen, Rev. K. D. Holmes, Rev. G. T. Adams, Rev. A. J.
Parker.

Bladen Street Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Bladen Street Methodist Episcopal Church came into
existence in response to a need felt by many Methodists living
in the northern part of the city for a place of worship of their
own. It was organized about the year 1887, and has had a
steady growth and a successful career, the present membership
being about 235.

Among the ministers who have served the church are the Rev.
Mr. Sawyer, Rev. Frank Butt, Rev. A. J. Parker, Rev. J. B.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Porter, Bev. B. B. Culbreth, Bev. G. B. Webster, Bev. W. L.
Bexford, and Bev. T. C. Vickers.

The Bladen Street Church is located on the southeast corner
of Bladen and Fifth Streets. Its present structure is a new and
handsome building of wood, which takes the place of a smaller
wooden building, removed in the year 1910.

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church.

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church occupies a site near the
northeast corner of Market and Binth Streets. The building is
of brick. The erection of a larger connecting structure on the
vacant lot on the corner is contemplated.

The church was organized in 1892 as the Market Street
Methodist Episcopal Church, and originally occupied a site on
the west side of Binth Street, a little to the south of Market.
Later, the new and better site was procured.

The church has done a good work in supplying the needs of
the members of the denomination living in the eastern section
of the city. Its present membership numbers about 200.

The ministers who have supplied the pulpit of Trinity Church
are: Bev. E. C. Sell, Bev. T. H. Sutton, Bev. M. T. Plyler,
Bev. A. S. Barnes, Bev. Marvin Culbreth, Bev. W. L. Bexford,
Bev. E. B. Welch, Bev. C. T. Bogers, and the present pastor,
Bev. W. V. McBae. Bev. J. W. Craig, an honored citizen and
efficient life-long pilot on the Cape Fear Biver, who was also a
local preacher of the Methodist Church, filled the pulpit for
some time in its early history.

At the present time (1916), plans are being formed to con-
solidate the membership of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
with the Methodists living in the eastern suburbs of the city in
an effort to erect a Methodist Church farther out Market Street
to take the place of the present organization and structure.

Early Methodism in Wilmington.

(Extracts from an address of Dr. Chreitzberg, delivered before the Methodist Conference
at Durham, N. C., December 2, 1894.)

In the year 1813 there was stationed in Wilmington a young
man who afterwards was long revered among us as Bishop Wil-
liam Capers. To him we are indebted for memorials of the
time which none would willingly lose. Of Huguenot descent,

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633

with great beauty of person and a manner denoting the Christian
gentleman, with an eloquence of speech that was charming, he
was well calculated to captivate any with whom he associated.
The parsonage to which he brought his bride of a few weeks was
not palatial. It is best described in his own words :

“The parsonage, which I might call a two-story dwelling-
house or a shanty, according to my humor, was a two-story
house, actually erected in that form, and no mistake, with its
first story eight feet high and the second between six and seven —
quite high enough for a man to stand in with his hat off, as men
ought always to stand when in a house. The stories, to he sure,
were not excessive as to length and breadth, any more than
height, each story constituting a room of some eighteen by
twelve or fourteen feet, and the upper one having the benefit of
a sort of step-ladder on the outside of the edifice, to render it
accessible when it might not rain too hard, or with an umbrella
when it did rain, if the wind did not blow too hard. And be-
sides this, there was a room constructed like a shed at one side
of the main building, which, as madam might not relish going
out of doors and up a step-ladder on her way to bed, especially
in rainy weather, was appropriated to her use as a bedchamber.
But we were content. A palace might scarcely have been appre-
ciated by us, who, by the grace of God, had in ourselves and in
each other a sufficiency for happiness. This house, the church,
and the lot they stood on (the church a coarse wooden structure
sixty feet by forty), and several adjoining lots, rented to free
negroes, had belonged to Mr. Meredith, and had been procured,
for the most part, by means of penny collections among the
negroes, who almost exclusively composed the congregation.”
There you have fully the picture of your first church and
parsonage in Wilmington. Mr. Capers speaks further of his
flock. His remarks will not hear condensation :

“Of my flock, much the greater number were negroes. The
whites were very poor or barely able to support themselves with
decency. Here, too, none of the wise men after the flesh, nor
mighty, nor noble were called. Indeed, of men of this class, I
know not that there was one, and believe that if one, there was
but one, who belonged to any church at all as a communicant.
They were, very generally, at least, too much tinctured with the
Trench deistical philosophy for that. Of churches in the town,
claiming mine to be one, there was but one other, the Protestant
Episcopal Church, of which the Bev. Adam Empie was rector.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Comparing numbers betweeen the churches as to white mem-
bers communing in each, I had the advantage of Mr. (since Dr.)
Empie, having some ten or a dozen males to his doubtful one,
while the females may have been about equally divided as to
numbers, giving him, however, and his church the prestige of
worldly wealth and honor.

“At that time it was admitted that the Methodists on the
whole were a good sort of enthusiasts, their religion well suited
to the lower classes, especially the negroes, who needed to be
kept in terror of hell fire. It was called the negro church long
after the blacks had left the lower floor for the galleries. And
by those of the historic episcopacy it was especially considered
the proper cognomen. They, from the difficulty, as a plain
countryman phrased it, of learning to ‘rise and sot/ failed in
capturing the masses. And though wanting the earth, this did
not seem to trouble them. But as far as position, power, or the
spoils of office go — ah, that was another matter. And that high
claim is not abated yet in this year of grace, reminding one of
the resolutions of the Puritan Conclave: ‘Resolved (1st), The
earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. Resolved (2nd),
The Lord has given it to the saints. Resolved (3rd), We are
the saints.’

“But what was the doctrine proclaimed from that plain pul-
pit ? There had come down the ages from a master theologian
the warning, ‘Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.’
Was there anything of ‘foolish questions, and genealogies, and
contentions, and strivings about the law,’ so vain and unprofit-
able ? Anything of ‘vain babblings and oppositions of science
falsely so called’ ? Rot a whit. But the grand doctrine of jus-
tification by faith, and its cognates of original depravity, regen-
eration, and the witnessing Spirit. These rang through those
old walls and caught the understanding of the philosophic and
the unlettered, and the white patrician and the negro plebeian
were alike moved to repentance.”

Mr. Travis, just two years before Mr. Capers, gives an in-
stance: The Hon. Benjamin Smith, of Orton, governor of

North Carolina, meeting him in the street at Wilmington, de-
sired him to call and see his wife, supposed to be unbalanced in
her mind, her head shaved and blistered, who, after all her seek-
ing of physicians, grew worse. The preacher diagnosed the
case at once and administered the proper remedy — instruction
and prayer. In a few days a carriage drove up to that humble

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635

parsonage, and Mrs. Smith entered it exclaiming, “O sir, yon
have done me more good than all the doctors together. You
directed me to Jesus. I went to Him in faith and humble
prayer and confidence. He has healed my soul and body. I
feel quite well and happy.” Anything of hyperbole and eastern
romance in this ? Is it not entirely in accord with the doctrine ?

William Capers gives another example: Mrs. G., of the first
class of the upper sort, deeply interested in what she had heard,
under cover of a call upon the preacher’s wife, came to consult
the preacher. The doubt on her mind was as to the possibility,
since the Apostles’ day, of common people knowing their sins
forgiven. The preacher gave the scriptural proofs freely, re-
ceived with the “How can these things he ?” Mrs. G. was accom-
panied by her sister, Mrs. W., better established in the old
creed. And Mrs. W., as a last resort, turning to Mrs. Capers,
said : “Well, Mrs. Capers, it must he a very high state of grace,
this which your husband talks about, and I dare say some very
saintly persons may have experienced it, hut as for us, it must
be quite above our reach. I am sure you do not profess it, do
you?” Mrs. Capers blushed deeply and replied in a soft tone
of voice, “Yes, ma’am, I experienced it at Rembert’s camp-
meeting year before last, and by the grace of God I still have
the witness of it.” That was enough. This witness is true, and
glory he to God, millions still testify to it on the earth.

The First Baptist Church.

The First Baptist Church of Wilmington was organized
April 13, 1833, with one hundred and twenty-seven charter
members. Prior to this time, little is known of the history of
the Baptist denomination in Wilmington. The first six years
of the church’s history is uncertain, owing to friction with the
Primitive Baptists.

Through the changing years of the city’s history, this church
has gone forward steadily with varying degrees of success. The
first pastor was Rev. A. Paul Repiton, who served the church
for eight months, beginning April, 1839. For two years follow-
ing this, the church was pastorless, during which time the pul-
pit was supplied by Rev. I. Innett. Rev. A. J. Battle became
pastor February 6, 1842, and served until August, 1843. Dur-
ing this period, the spirit of evangelism began to spread through
the membership, and quite a number were added to the church.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

A second pastorate was begun by Rev. Mr. Repiton, October 26,
1843, and continued to October, 1844. This pastorate and the
two succeeding were uneventful. Rev. Janies McDaniel served
from October, 1844, to October, 1852. Rev. W. H. Jordan
served from October, 1852, to September, 1855. With the com-
ing of Rev. John L. Pritchard to the pastorate in January,
1856, the church took on new life. Prom the first the congre-
gation had been worshiping in a frame building on P ront Street,
between Ann and Hun, overlooking the Cape Pear River. A
lot was now purchased on Pifth and Market Streets, at a cost
of $4,500, and an effort was made to raise money for a new
building, $10,075 being realized. On February 16, 1857, a
resolution was passed by the church, determining to erect a
new building within two years, and the work was begun. Dr.
Pritchard worked untiringly in behalf of the church and com-
munity. During the yellow fever scourge, he, the Rev. A. Paul
Repiton, the Catholic priest, and the Episcopal rector, were the
only ministers who did not become refugees. These all, except
Mr. Repiton, died from this plague, and a monument was
erected by the citizens of Wilmington in Oakdale Cemetery to
the memory of Dr. Pritchard.

Rev. W. M. Young succeeded Dr. Pritchard in the pastorate.
The building enterprise was hindered by the war. The house in
which the congregation was worshiping was very unsatisfactory
and the mayor of the city offered the City Hall for their use.
This offer was accepted. It was at this time that the colored
members of the church asked permission to hold regular wor-
ship to themselves, and to employ a minister at their own cost
to preach to them, but to remain under the authority and gov-
ernment of the First Baptist Church. This request was granted.
Rev. Mr. Young later resigned the pastorate, and in October,
1868, Rev. J. C. Heiden was called to become pastor. He con-
tinued with the church until April, 1875. The new church
building was completed in April, 1870, and was dedicated, on
the first Sunday in May of that year, Dr. E. T. Winklen, of
Charleston, S. C., preaching the dedicatory sermon.

A small band desired to form another congregation, and
April 3, 1871, a committee was appointed to secure a place in
Brooklyn for holding services. They secured Brooklyn Hall,
and began there a branch of the First Church. The present
Calvary Baptist Church is the outcome of this enterprise.

Rev. James B. Taylor became pastor in December, 1875, and

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637

continued to serve the church until 1883. It was during this
pastorate that the church saw the culmination of their building
enterprise. While the building had been in use for some years,
there was a heavy debt on it of $11,000. By hard work, Dr.
Taylor had the amount reduced to $6,000, and arrangements
were made to wipe out the entire indebtedness. On the day set
for raising the money, enthusiasm ran high, the people gave
gladly and liberally, and by one o’clock, the entire amount had
been raised, and the church was prepared to pay every cent it
owed.

Rev. Thomas H. Pritchard succeeded Dr. Taylor in the pas-
torate in September, 1883, and remained the pastor until Janu-
ary, 1892. On April 4, 1887, the church passed a resolution to
the effect that the imperative demands of the Sunday-school for
more suitable accommodations were such that the church should
not longer delay to erect a lecture-room, which, when done,
would complete the original design of the church building.
Work on this addition was begun in 1890. At the same time,
a handsome pipe organ, valued at about $7,000, was installed.
Rev. W. B. Oliver was pastor from March, 1893, to November,
1897. Rev. C. S. Blackwell became pastor of the First Church
October, 1898, and remained in this office until March, 1903.

Rev. Fred D. Hale’s pastorate extended from March, 1904,
to June, 1909. The period of Dr. Hale’s ministry was marked
by many progressive steps. Many church improvements were
made, including the building of several organized class-rooms
for the Sunday-school. The membership of the church grew
very rapidly. During the five and one-fourth years that Dr.
Hale served as pastor, there were 719 additions, an average of
132 a year.

Rev. J. H. Foster became pastor in October, 1909, and con-
tinued with the church until June, 1915, when he resigned the
work here to become president of the Bessie Tift College, of
Forsyth, Ga. This pastorate was marked above other things by
an expansive policy. Work was carried on at Castle Haynes,
Farmers, Winter Park, and Delgado. At the last two named
places, suitable and attractive church buildings were erected.
Winter Park has now become an independent church. For a
while, Miss Nettie King served as city missionary. Rev. M. C.
Alexander was called as assistant pastor on January 1, 1911,
and continued in this office until he resigned to resume his
studies in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Rev.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

W. M. Craig assumed the duties as assistant pastor July 15,
1913, and is at this time the acting pastor of the church. Dr.
Foster’s pastorate, like that of Dr. Hale, was marked by an
unusually large number of additions. During but little more
than four years, 787 members were received into the church,
an average of 186 a year. The present membership is 1,307.

Calvary Baptist Church.

The Baptists of Wilmington began mission work in the
northern part of the city, April 3, 1871, when a committee was
appointed by the First Baptist Church to secure a place to hold
services. This committee secured the use of Brooklyn Hall,
the second floor of what is now the J. H. Behder & Co., depart-
ment store. This work was begun as a branch of the First
Baptist Church, and was carried on for a number of years with
varying and doubtful degrees of success.

On April 4, 1886, the work was organized into an independ-
ent church, with just thirteen members. These charter members
were: Daniel Yates, Mrs. Mary Yates, W. T. Walton, Mrs.
W. T. Walton, Samuel L. Smith, J. W. Taylor, Mrs. J. W.
Taylor, Z. E. Murrell, Kelson Jenkins, Mrs. Kelson Jenkins,
Gaston M. Murrell, Mrs. Octavia Baskins, and Rev. G. M. Tol-
son. It was a small band, but they were of the stock that knew
no failure. They continued to use the hall as a place of wor-
ship for some time, and were known as the “Brooklyn Hall
Baptist Church.”

About 1892, the church purchased a large building on Fourth
and Brunswick Streets, known as “Minnie’s Hall.” The lower
floor was occupied by two stores, and the upper portion was
used for church purposes. During the time of the occupancy
of this place and up to quite recently, the organization was
known as the “Brooklyn Baptist Church.” In August, 1914,
the church, for satisfactory reasons, changed its name to Cal-
vary Baptist Church.

On August 12, 1906, the present building was dedicated.
The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. J. L. Yipperman,
a former pastor. The membership at this writing is 450. The
following have served the church during its career : Rev. G. M.
Tolson, Rev. A. A. Scruggs, Rev. R. E. Peele, and Rev. J. T.
Jenkins served to March 25, 1894; Rev. R. E. Peele (second
pastorate), 1894; Rev. J. W. Kramer, 1895-1898; Rev. J. J.
Payseur, 1899-1902; Rev. J. L. Yipperman, 1902-1904; Rev.

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639

J. A. McKaughan, 1904-1907 ; Rev. C. F. Whitlock, 1907-
1911; Rev. J. A. Sullivan became pastor December 5, 1911,
and remains pastor at this time.

Southside Baptist Church.

Some time prior to 1870, the Baptists in the southern part of
the city began work, and in the latter part of that year they
applied to the First Baptist Church for assistance in the erec-
tion of a church building. The First Church responded gener-
ously by giving the lot and a large sum towards the building,
which was soon erected and known as the Second Baptist
Church. It was situated on Sixth Street, between Church and
Castle. Rev. Joseph P. King was the pastor, hut he shortly
embraced the doctrines of the Second Adventists, which neces-
sitated a severance of his connection with the Baptist denomi-
nation. The majority of the members of the new church went
with the pastor and held the property; the remainder united
with the First Baptist Church. They, however, continued the
work begun in the southern part of the city, and established a
Sunday-school at the present location of the Southside Church,
Fifth and Wooster Streets. In 1894 letters were granted to
thirty-five members of the First Church to form a new organi-
zation, and they established the Southside Church.

The first pastor was Rev. J. B. Harrell, who served only a
short time, and was succeeded by Rev. F. H. F arrington. Then
came Rev. R. H. Herring, Rev. C. H. Htley, Rev. W. H. Davis,
Rev. G. A. Martin, and the present pastor, Rev. W. G. Hall,
whose pastorate began April 1, 1911.

During these years the church has gone steadily forward, and
the present membership is 517. Finding the old building too
small for the congregation, in 1912 the church began prepara-
tions to erect a handsome brick structure, and in the spring of
1913 actual work was in progress. On the 26th of June of the
same year the cornerstone of the new building was laid by Mr.
J. S. Canady, one of the charter members. This new church
edifice cost $20,000.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

The Lutheran denomination is represented in Wilmington by
two flourishing churches, St. Paul’s and St. Matthew’s. The
former was organized in the year 1858 and the latter in 1892.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Before 1858 Wilmington had developed a considerable
German population, immigrants who had come from Germany
in the course of a period of several years. They worshiped
principally with the congregation of the First Presbyterian
Church, and their children attended the Sunday-school of that
church, hut some of them joined in the worship of other
churches of the city. In the year mentioned they decided that
the time had come for the organization of a Lutheran church,
such as they had been accustomed to in the F atherland. Accord-
ingly, Bev. J. A. Linn and Rev. G. D. Bernheim, of the Synod
of North Carolina, were invited to aid in the necessary steps
leading to the organization of the church.

The number who signified their desire to form a Lutheran
Church was nearly three score persons ; and they became enthusi-
astically interested in plans for providing a place of worship
of their own. Meantime, at a congregational meeting, the Rev.
John H. Mengert, D.D., who had labored with great success in
the mission field of India and in the city of Baltimore, was
called as first pastor of the church, and began his pastorate
on December 23, 1858. He was a man of scholarly attainments
and deep piety, and his devoted ministry made a lasting impres-
sion upon the Lutherans of the city.

The complete organization of the church, which was to he
known as St. Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church, was made
on January 6, 1859, in the building of the First Presbyterian
Church, which at that time was located on Front Street between
Dock and Orange. At first the congregation worshiped in
the Presbyterian Church, hut later found it desirable to secure
another place of worship, and the vestry house of St. James’s
Protestant Episcopal Church was rented and repaired for their
use. The present location of St. Paul’s Church was purchased
in 1859, and the interest of the congregation was greatly stimu-
lated thereby. At that time a constitution for the church was
adopted, and bore the signature of seventy-two persons.

Dr. Mengert’s pastorate continued for three years and a half.
During its latter part the life of the church was greatly im-
paired by the war and also by the yellow fever epidemic in
1862. Meantime, however, a handsome church structure had
been erected.

After the capture of Wilmington in 1865, the Federal mili-
tary authorities occupied the church building. This necessi-
tated considerable repairs.

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641

After Dr. Mengert left, there was a vacancy in the pastorate
for about six years, when the Rev. G. D. Bernheim, D.D., was
invited to take charge of the church. He accepted the call, and
for eleven years was an efficient and devoted pastor. The church
greatly prospered under his ministry.

Rev. F. W. E. Peschau, D.D., was the third pastor, and
served the church for several years. He was very successful
in his religious work among the seamen visiting the port who
spoke the German and Scandinavian languages. He was suc-
ceeded after an intermission of about eight months by the Rev.
K. Boldt, D.D. Dr. Boldt introduced the common liturgical
service in the church. His pastorate continued for four years.

The fifth pastor was Rev. A. G. Voigt, D.D., formerly pro-
fessor of theology in the Lutheran College at Newberry, S. C.
Under his ministry the resources of the congregation were
largely developed.

After the resignation of Dr. Voigt, the Rev. W. A. Snyder,
D.D., was called to be the sixth pastor. For eight years he
served the church with great efficiency. He was succeeded by
the present pastor, Rev. F. B. Clausen, under whose leadership
the congregation of St. Paul’s is in a most prosperous condi-
tion. The church now ranks among the leading congregations
of the United Synod in the South in liberality and service.

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church.

St. Matthew’s English Evangelical Lutheran Church, situated
on North Fourth Street, was organized on March 14, 1892, by
the Rev. F. W. E. Peschau, D.D., pastor of St. Paul’s Church.
Prior to that time a successful Sunday-school had been main-
tained by the members of St. Paul’s and, in consequence of its
work, the organization of St. Matthew’s Church was easily
effected. Its several pastors have been devoted ministers, and
the church has been a great spiritual blessing to the people of
its locality.

The following have served as pastors : Rev. G. D. Bernheim,
D.D., Rev. C. R. Kegley, Rev. G. S. Bearden, Rev. H. E.
Beatty, and the present pastor, Rev. G. W. McClanahan.

Under the present pastorate the church is enjoying a healthy
growth and bright prospects for the future.

In the northern part of the city, the Synodical Conference of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church has just begun an educational

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

and religious work for the colored people. The building used
for this purpose is located on Nixon Street, and the work is in
charge of Rev. Otto Richert.

The Lutheran Churches in Wilmington constitute the only
congregations of that denomination within a radius of 150 miles.

Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholics of Wilmington are particularly fortunate in
the building designated as St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral. A beauti-
ful structure, of the Spanish Renaissance, located at Ann Street
and Fifth Avenue, one of the most attractive spots in Wilming-
ton, marks the successful growth of the mustard seed as far as
this congregation is concerned.

The congregation of St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral was originally
under the title of St. Thomas. Under this title Rev. Thomas
Murphy was appointed pastor on January 1, 1845, by the Rt.
Rev. Dr. Reynolds, bishop of Charleston, S. C. Father Murphy
immediately entered upon his duties, with the zeal and energy
characteristic of his race. He gathered about him the few of
his members residing in Wilmington, and rented a small room
to conduct their worship. An extract from the church records,
in F ather Murphy’s handwriting, may he of interest :

“The number of Catholics, at the above date (January 1,
1845) did not exceed forty persons. A small room which was
used as a chapel, was rented for $40 per annum. On the first
of November, 1845, a suitable lot for the erection of a church
was purchased for the sum of $797, by three individuals, viz.:
Dr. William A. Berry, Bernard Baxter, and Miss Catherine
McKoy. A subscription list was then opened, and the mem-
bers subscribed liberally Recording to their means.” The lot
referred to is on Dock Street, between Second and Third Streets,
now used as a church for colored Catholics.

It may he noted from Father Murphy’s appointment, that
the Catholics of North Carolina were under the jurisdiction of
the bishop of Charleston, S. C. In 1868 the State was given
separate spiritual jurisdiction, and James Gibbons (later, Car-
dinal Gibbons, of Baltimore) became the vicar apostolic. Dur-
ing his short administration, Bishop Gibbons saw with satisfac-
tion the rapid growth of his congregation. He immediately set
about securing other places in the city for the erection of schools.
The property at Third and Dock was secured for additional

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643

church room. He next purchased the site bounded by Fourth,
Fifth, and Ann Streets. In reference to this, we find the fol-
lowing in the church records :

“September 20, 1869. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Gibbons suc-
ceeded in founding in Wilmington city a convent of the Sisters
of our Lady of Mercy. The establishment opened with only
three sisters — Mother Augustine, Sister Charles, and Sister
Mary Baptist. This is the first in North Carolina, and the
latest foundation in the States, of the good sisters who came
from the Charleston community as established by Dr. England.”

Pioneer work of this character is always interesting. Like
all the other religious bodies, the Catholic Church progressed
with the growth of the population. In later years, when it be-
came evident that Wilmington would grow towards the east and
the south, the Catholic congregation became desirous of select-
ing a more suitable site for the erection of a cathedral church.
Rt. Rev. Leo Haid, the present vicar apostolic, decided that
Fifth and Ann Streets was the most attractive location. Ground
was broken for the new structure May 20, 1908. The corner-
stone was laid with great solemnity October 21, 1909. The
solemn dedication occurred April 28, 1912. This was an im-
portant event for the city as well as for the Catholics. Their
first vicar apostolic, Cardinal Gibbons, returned to Wilmington
for this ceremony. Though raised to high dignity in his church,
he has never forgotten Wilmington and has never lost inter-
est in her welfare. His visit on that occasion was not only that
of a bishop to his fiock, but as a former citizen to view again the
scene of his first labors. The day after the solemn dedication,
a reception was tendered Cardinal Gibbons at the home of Maj.
D. O’Connor. Thousands visited him on that occasion to renew
their earlier acquaintance.

From the small beginning in 1845, we have now a building
that is an adornment to the city; a beautiful structure of ma-
sonry work alone — no nails, no wood, hut brick, cement, stone,
and tile, all constructed under the supervision of Rev. Patrick
Marion, of Asheville — a monument to his ability and genius.

Temple of Israel.

The month of November, 1872, witnessed the organization
of the first regular Jewish congregation in North Carolina, and
at that time was inaugurated the movement which resulted in

644 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the erection in Wilmington of the first Jewish house of worship
in the State.

That our Jewish fellow-citizens held religious services in the
city prior to that time we are assured by the oldest inhabitants ;
hut this was done occasionally only, although late in the sixties
there was here a quasi-congregational organization under the
spiritual leadership of the Rev. E. M. Myers. He conducted
services, when a ritual quorum — ten adult males — attended, in
an old building on South Front Street, formerly a Presbyterian
Chapel. The earliest permanent organization, however, dates
from November, 1872, and its birthplace was the hospitable
home of the late Abraham Weill, at the northeast corner of
Front and Mulberry (Grace) Streets.

On November 21, 1872, Dr. Marcus Jastrow, of Philadel-
phia, addressed a general meeting of Israelites in the city court
room, and under the inspiration of his address and the chairman-
ship of Mr. Solomon Bear, an organization was effected, and
committees were named to solicit members and subscriptions and
to select a suitable location for a synagogue. As membership in
Jewish congregations was confined to men, the women, anxious
to aid in the good work, organized an auxiliary association un-
der the name Ladies’ Concordia Society, “to promote the cause
of Judaism, and to aid by its funds the maintenance of a temple
of worship in our midst.” The wording of this resolution
probably suggested to the men the name of the congregation,
Mishhan Yisrael — Temple of Israel.

Together the men and women worked zealously with the de-
sired end in view. Eventually they secured the lot on the south-
east corner of Fourth and Market Streets, just across from St.
James’s Cemetery, which shelters the ashes of the builders of
Wilmington and where also is the grave of the Samuel Adams
of North Carolina, Cornelius Harnett, and contracted with the
Abbotsburg Building Company, General Abbot, president, for
the erection of a $20,000 church edifice, according to plans
drawn in Philadelphia and altered and amended by our towns-
man, James Walker. Capt. R. S. Radcliffe was engaged to
superintend the work. Ground was broken in March, 1875, and
on the 15th day of June the cornerstone was laid. The Rev.
Dr. Jastrow, whose exhortations had given the first impetus to
the congregation, was present to bless the work; Hon. Alfred
Moore Waddell, in a splendid oration, delivered the greetings
of the city and of the Masonic Order, under whose auspices the

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645

cornerstone was laid, and with a beautiful benediction the rabbi
closed the ceremonies, which were participated in by representa-
tives of several churches.

In February, 1876, the congregation, looking forward to the
early completion of the building, called Rabbi Samuel Mendel-
sohn to assume the rabbinate. The call was accepted, and Rabbi
Mendelsohn came to Wilmington February 29, 1876, at once
assuming the duties which be is still discharging. He organized
Sabbath-school classes, inaugurated regular Sabbath (Saturday)
services, both of which were domiciled in the basement of the
building, and otherwise aided in arousing a spirit of congrega-
tional life among bis parishioners.

On May 12, 1876, Rabbi Mendelsohn, once a pupil of Dr.
Jastrow, solemnly dedicated the temple whose existence pri-
marily owed so much to the eloquent addresses of this great
teacher and famous scholar (1829-1903) ; and ever since the
temple has been open and the rabbi at bis post for divine serv-
ices on the eve and morn of every Jewish Sabbath (Saturday)
and of every Jewish festival, and on every occasion that calls
for a solemn convocation.

The Ladies’ Concordia Society still continues its activities and
the Sabbath-school Aid Society, consisting of former and pres-
ent pupils, is doing good work in providing for the needs of an
institution of this kind.

Connected with the congregation is a Hebrew Relief Associa-
tion, whose aim and object are to prevent an Israelite, resident
or transient, from becoming a burden on the community or its
charities; and we are assured that throughout the years of the
existence of the Associated Charities only one Jewish applicant
has received aid from that beneficent source.

But while the congregation is pursuing the even tenor of a
J ewisb institution and the Temple of Israel naturally resounds
with the worship of the God of Israel, the Scriptural word em-
ployed by Dr. Mqndelsobn in the course of bis dedicatory ser-
mon, “Mine bouse shall be called an bouse of prayer for all
people,” was practically exemplified during the spring of 1886
and thereafter. On the 21st day of February the beautiful and
commodious edifice of the Front Street Methodist Episcopal
Church went down in ashes in a conflagration that destroyed
an appalling number of buildings, and the congregation became
homeless. The morning of February 23, however, brought relief
to that congregation in the form of a cordial invitation from

646

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

the rabbi and directors of the temple, tendering to tbeir grieving
friends the use of that sacred edifice for any and all occasions
that require a church, and, in general, to make the temple their
religious home. The invitation was gratefully accepted, and
for a little over two years the bereft Methodist Episcopal con-
gregation regularly worshiped there, and the Young Men’s
Christian Association of that church met there. During that
time there never was a conflict of the hours of service between
the owners of the building and their guests. When either con-
gregation needed the temple for special services, its minister in-
formed the minister of the other congregation, and between
them the hours were conveniently arranged. And not only did
the ministers accommodate each other in the matter of time, hut
several times one took the place of the other when that other
was out of town.

Officers, 1876: .Solomon Bear, president; Abraham Weill,
vice-president; Nathaniel Jacobi, treasurer; Jacob I. Macks,
secretary. Directors : M. M. Katz, N. Greenwalde, E. Bhein-
stein, H. Marcus, H. Brunhied.

Officers, 1915: B. Solomon, president; M. W. Jacobi, vice-
president; Albert Solomon, treasurer; J. N. Jacobi, secretary.
Directors: Samuel Bear, jr., L. Bluethenthal, Abe Schultz,

Isadore Bear, G. Dannenbaum.

Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church.

The Holy Ghost, working when, where, and in whom He will,
made it possible for negroes to receive religious instruction at a
time when they could not provide intelligent and needful in-
struction for themselves. Master and slave, often at the same
time, heard the same message of God’s love, and together united
in prayer and praise.

Slaves were usually inclined to the religious faith of their
masters. Many were taught the catechism, and were acquainted
with the Confession of Eaith, the form of government, and the
worship of the Presbyterian Church.

At the close of the War between the States, the negroes began
to withdraw their membership from the white organizations,
and form congregations of their own. The colored members of
the Eirst Presbyterian Church, thirty-four in number, were,
on the 21st of April, 1867, organized as the Eirst Colored
Presbyterian Church. They purchased the house of worship on

Peace Restored

647

Chestnut Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets, which
was formerly used by the Second Presbyterian Church, known
now as St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and the colored
congregation has since been known as the Chestnut Street Pres-
byterian Church.

Splendid material was in the organization, and through the
years the church has been proud of its membership. The dis-
tinguishing features of a Presbyterian Church have been main-
tained ; an intelligent ministry, an orderly and dignified service,
and a ceaseless effort to win souls.

Under the several pastors, some of whom were men of recog-
nized ability, consecration, and piety, the church has had vary-
ing success, but has always exerted a healthful influence in the
community. It is now enjoying a period of peace and progress,
with one hundred and three members, a well organized Sabbath-
school, a Young People’s Society, and an active Woman’s Mis-
sionary Society.

64:8

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

WILMINGTON SCHOOLS.

A rich and well-stored mind is the only true philosopher’s stone, ex-
tracting pure gold from all the base material around. It can create its
own beauty, wealth, power, happiness. It has no dreary solitudes. The
past ages are its possession, and the long line of the illustrious dead are
all its friends. Whatever the world has seen of brave and noble, beau-
tiful and good it can command. It mingles in all the grand and solemn
scenes of history, and is an actor in every great and stirring event. It
is by the side of Bayard as he. stands alone upon the bridge and saves
the army; it weeps over the true heart of chivalry, the gallant Sidney,
as with dying hand he puts away the cup from his parched and fevered
lips. It leaps into the yawning gulf with Curtius; follows the white
plume of Navarre at Ivry; rides to Chalgrove field with Hampden;
mounts the scaffold with Russell, and catches the dying prayer of the
noble Sir Harry Vane. It fights for glory at the Granicus, for fame at
Agincourt, for empire at Waterloo, for power on the Ganges, for reli-
gion in Palestine, for country at Thermopylae, and for freedom at
Bunker Hill. It marches with Alexander, reigns with Augustus, sings
with Homer, teaches with Plato, pleads with Demosthenes, loves with
Petrarch, is imprisoned with Paul, suffers with Stephen, and dies with
Christ. It feels no tyranny and knows no subjection. Misfortunes can
not subdue it, power can not crush it, unjust laws can not oppress it.
Ever steady, faithful, and true, shining by night as by day, it abides
with you always and everywhere. George Davis.

In his admirable' volume Documentary History of North
Carolina Schools and Academies 1790-1840, published by the
North Carolina Historical Commission, 1915, Professor Charles
L. Coon, superintendent of public schools, Wilson, N. C., prints
the following interesting matter on New Hanover County
schools :

Wilmington Academy, 1812.

An examination of the pupils of this establishment com-
menced on Thursday last and closed in the afternoon of the
ensuing day. A numerous assemblage witnessed this exhibition,
which throughout was highly gratifying. We congratulate our
town on the successful commencement of an institution, which,
though too long delayed in its operation, promises to produce
an abundant harvest of good to the rising generation. Praise
is due to all the Teachers; and were we to speak as we feel our
approbation of the Principal, his real merit might in the opin-
ion of some he distinguished by the warmth of the eulogium
we should pronounce.

The Star , May 15, 1812.

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649

Wilmington Academy.

A person of decent manners and unimpeached morals, ca-
pable of teaching the English Language grammatically, and the
Latin Language in its earlier stages, also writing and arithme-
tic, is wanted in this Academy, to commence his duties on the
first day of the ensuing November, and to continue until the
first day of the subsequent August. July 15.

James W. Walker, Secretary.
Raleigh Register , July 23, 1813.

Halsley’s School, 1836.

The subscriber will open a school at his plantation, on the
sound, eight miles from Wilmington, formerly the property of
Alexander Peden, deceased, on the 23rd May, ensuing, where
scholars of either sex will be instructed in the different English
branches. Eight or ten boarders can be accommodated at four
dollars per month, each boarder will furnish his own bedding.
Application can be made to the editor of this paper, previous
to the above specified time, or to the subscriber.

Terms : Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, $3.00 per quar-
ter. English Grammar, History, and Geography, $4.00 per
quarter. B. W. Halsley.

Wilmington Advertiser , May 6, 1836.

Corbin’s School, 1836.

Mrs. Sarah Jane Corbin respectfully informs her friends
and the public that she intends re-opening her school on the 1st.
of November.

TERMS PER QUARTER.

Spelling, Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic $4.00

The above with Grammar, including Parsing & Exercise 5.00

The above, with Geography, History, Khetorick, Philosophy &

Mythology 6.00

For fuel 12 y2 cents per month.

Also Lessons in Practical Writing and Stenography will be
given to Young Ladies between the hours of 12 A. M. and 2
P. M., having qualified herself for that purpose.

Wilmington, October 28, 1836.

Wilmington Advertiser , December 16, 1836.

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Chronicles of the Cajpe Fear River

Ryckman’s School, 1836.

Miss Ryckman respectfully informs the inhabitants of Wil-
mington and its vicinity, that she intends opening a school on
the 1st. of November next for Young Ladies. The pupils will
be taught Orthography, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic (mental
and practical), Grammar, Geography, History, the Elements
of Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Chemistry, and Botany,
plain and ornamental Needle-work, together with the Spanish
Language. Great attention will be given to the religious and
moral advancement of the scholars.

Particulars with regards to Terms, etc., will be made known
on application to Dr. Thomas H. Wright.

Wilmington, October 21, 1836.

Wilmington Advertiser, December 16, 1836.

Stanllft’s Writing School, 1836.

A CARD.

Mr. J. W. Stanlift having completed his first course of les-
sons in writing, from the solicitations of many of the citizens
of the town, has been induced to open his school for a second
course.

His school room is in the second story of one of the buildings
on Second Street, a few doors north of Mr. E. P. Hall’s resi-
dence.

Lessons at private houses will be given if requested.

N. B. — He again states, that should he not succeed in giving
entire satisfaction to such as will properly apply themselves,
no remuneration will be asked.

Wilmington, December 9, 1836.

Wilmington Advertiser , December 16, 1836.

Spencer’s Academy, 1836, Academics: School.

This school will commence on Monday, the 28th inst. in the
Wilmington Academy, under the care of Mr. E. M. S. Spencer.

Branches taught — English Grammar, Geography, Arithme-
tick, Reading and Writing, History, ancient and modern, Na-
tural Philosophy, Astronomy, Rhetorick, Belles-Lettres, Decla-
mation, Composition, and the Latin and Greek Languages.

Young Gentlemen wishing to prepare for College, or for any

Peace Restored

651

business in life, can receive private lessons at the Clarendon
House between tbe hours of 6 and 9 p. m.

Payment for Tuition in all cases in advance — First quarter
to consist of 12 weeks. For Terms and Tickets of admission,
apply to Mr. James Dickson.

Wilmington, November 25, 1836.

Wilmington Advertiser , December 16, 1836.

An Evening School will commence on Tuesday of next week,
at the Academy, for those Young Gentlemen who may desire to
attend; to be conducted under the care of Mr. E. M. S. Spencer.
Schools every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evening, from
7 to 9 o’clock.

TEEMS.

For English Branches $3.00

For languages 5.00

Wilmington, March 24th, 1837.

Wilmington Advertiser , April 14, 1837.

Crook’s Grammar School, 1837.

The Eev. Mr. Crook intends opening a school in the Wil-
mington Academy during the first week in January next. Mr.
Crook will thoroughly instruct in all the elementary branches
of an English education, and he hopes by a conscientious dis-
charge of the important duties of a teacher of youth, to afford
satisfaction to patrons & pupils.

Wilmington Advertiser, December 22, 1837.

Mr. & Mrs. Cook will open a school at Smithville, between
the 20th and last of June. In addition to all the branches of a
correct English Education, Mr. Cook will teach the rudiments
of the Greek & Latin tongues.

Wilmington Advertiser, June 8, 1838.

Mulock’s English School, 1838.

Having removed his school to the house one door north of the
store of Mr. J. M. Cazaux, in the town of Wilmington, [Mr.
Mulock] will commence the first regular term on Monday, the
5th of November next. In this school, designed for males, will

652

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

be taught the elementary and higher branches of English educa-
tion, viz: Orthography, Reading, Writing, Geography, Gram-

mar, Arithmetic, History, Philosophy, Chemistry, Rhetoric,
Composition, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Surveying &
Astronomy.

Terms of tuition for the first seven branches in the above
order, $6.50 per quarter or twelve weeks. An extra charge of
$1 is made for each of the other higher branches.

As the number of pupils is limited, early application is de-
sirable.

Wilmington Advertiser , October 26, 1838.

Simpson’s School, 1839.

Miss Jessie B. Simpson respectfully informs the inhabitants
of Wilmington and its vicinity that on Monday next she in-
tends opening a school for Young Ladies, in which will be
taught English in all its branches, Erench Language, Music,
Drawing & Painting, Eancywork & Waxwork.

Wilmington Advertiser , January 4, 1839.

Lloyd and Bailey’s Eemale School, 1840.

Mrs. Lloyd & Miss Bailey propose to open a school for Young
Ladies in Wilmington in October next. They will give a thor-
ough course of instruction in the various branches of Literature
& Science, usually taught in the Higher Schools, including the
Higher Mathematics and the Natural Sciences; also the Erench
& Latin Languages, Music on the Piano Eorte and Guitar,
accompanied by the voice. Further particulars will be given
hereafter. They have had experience in teaching, and are per-
mitted to refer to the Rev. Messrs. Drane & Eells, of Wilming-
ton, Dr. S. B. Everett, of Smithville, and Rev. Messrs. Colton
& Bailey, of Fayetteville.

Wilmington WeeMy Chronicle, June 10, 1840.

Repiton’s School, 1840.

The subscriber will open a school the 14th of September, for
the instruction of the youth of this place, and the surrounding
country. The branches of education which will be taught, and
the prices charged per quarter, will be as follows, without any
deduction except in cases of protracted illness.

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653

Reading, Writing and Geography, $5.00; Arithmetic, Eng-
lish Grammar, History, Etc., $6.25; Latin & Greek, $8.00.
Composition once in two weeks. Declamation once in two
weeks.

Wilmington Weelcly Chronicle , September 16, 1840.

Professor Coon also quotes on page 763 the rules of a school
taught in Stokes County, as follows :

RULES OF SCHOOL.

No. Lashes.

1. Boys & Girls Playing Together 4

2. Quareling 4

3. Fighting 5

4. Fighting at School 5

5. Quareling at School 3

6. Gambleing or Beting at School 4

7. Playing at Cards at School 10

8. Climbing for every foot Over three feet up a tree 1

9. Telling Lyes 7

10. Telling Tales Out of School 8

11. Nick Naming Each Other 4

12. Giving Each Other 111 Names 3

13. Fighting Each Other in time of Books 2

14. Swearing at School 8

15. Blackgarding Each Other 6

16. For Misbehaving to Girls 10

17. For Leaving School without Leave of the Teacher 4

18. Going Home with each other without Leave of the Teacher. . 4

19. For Drinking Spirituous Liquors at School 8

20. Making Swings & Swinging on Them 7

21. For Misbehaving when a stranger is in the House 6

22. For waring Long Finger Nailes 2

23. For Not Making a bow when a Stranger Comes in or goes out 3

24. Misbehaving to Persons on the Road 4

25. For Not Making a Bow when you Meet a Person 4

26. For Going to Girls Play Places 3

27. Girls Going to Boys Play Places 2

28. Coming to School with Dirty face and Hands 2

29. For Caling Each Other Liars 4

30. For Playing Bandy 10

31. For Bloting Your Copy Book 2

32. For Not Making a bow when you go home or when you come

away 4

33. Wrestling at School 4

34. Scuffling at School 4

35. For Not Making a Bow when going out to go home 2

36. For Weting Each other Washing at Play time 2

37. For Hollowing & Hooping Going Home 3

654

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

No. Lashes,

38. For Delaying Time Going home or Coming to School 4

39. For Not Making a bow when you come in or go Out 2

40. For Throwing Any Thing harder than your trab ball 4

41. For Every Word you mis In your Hart Leson without Good

Excuse 1

42. For Not Saying ‘Yes Sir’ & ‘No Sir’ or ‘Yes Marm’ or ‘No

Marm’ 2

43. For Troubleing Each others Writing affares 2

44. For Not washing at playtime when going to Books 4

45. For Going & Playing about the Mill or Creek 6

46. For Going about the Barn or doing Any Mischief about the

place 7

November 10th, 1848. Wm. A. Chaffin.

Professor Coon, in addition, copies the following interesting
early advertisement for a private instructor :

A TUTOR WANTED :

A decent, sober, and discreet person, that can teach the Latin
and Greek Languages, and the Mathematics, willing to engage
in a private family to teach three or four Youths only, will
meet with encouragement by applying to the Subscriber at
Eocky Point, November 13. Samuel Ashe.

Raleigh Register , January 21, 1808.

He also quotes the Raleigh Star of October 1, 1813 :

There are Heading Eooms in Newbern, Wilmington, and
Fayetteville, and they are the fashionable resort of all the re-,
spectable people of these places. It would be a reproach to the
Metropolis to remain longer without such an establishment.
The town wants a fashionable lounging place, where intelligent
citizens and strangers can meet daily, and enjoy the pleasures
of reading and conversation. A subscription paper will be sent
round in a few days to obtain Signatures, when the conditions
will be made known.

Raleigh Star , October 1, 1813.

and also the Raleigh Register , July 23, 1813.

Other Cape Fear Private Schools.

Antedating the period covered by Professor Coon, the Cape
Fear was not without schools; indeed, that there were some

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655

educational facilities on the river from the first settlement may
be gathered from the will of John Baptista Ashe, made in
1734, in which he directed that his sons should have a liberal
education. “And in their education I pray my executors to
observe this method: Let them he taught to read and write,

and be introduced into the practical part of arithmetic, not too
hastily hurrying them to Latin or grammar ; but, after they are
pretty well versed in these, let them he taught Latin and Greek.
I propose that this may be done in Virginia, after which let
them learn French. Perhaps some Frenchman at Santee will
undertake this. When they are arrived at years of discretion,
let them study the mathematics. I will that my daughter be
taught to read and write and some feminine accomplishment
which may render her agreeable, and that she he not kept ignor-
ant as to what appertains to a good housewife in the manage-
ment of household affairs.”

In 1745 there was a school taught in Brunswick, and in 1749
the Legislature appropriated £6,000 to establish a free school,
hut during the Indian war the money was used for war pur-
poses. In 1754 another appropriation was made, but the act
was not approved in England. In 1759, John Ashe, as chair-
man of a committee, brought in an address to the King, praying
that a part of a certain fund should he laid out in purchasing
glebes and in establishing free schools in each county, hut that
money was to come from an issue of notes, and there was some
slight objection to the form of the notes which the Governor did
not communicate to the Assembly* Frequent application was
made, even up to 1765, hut the objection not having been com-
municated to the Assembly, it was never removed.

In 1760, Rev. James Tate, a Presbyterian minister, opened
a classical school at Wilmington; and in 1785 Rev. William
Bingham began his famous school here. About 1800 the Innes
Academy was finished. The first teacher was Rev. Dr. Hailing.

After a few years service Dr. Hailing was succeeded by Mr.
Rogers. Mr. Rogers had been a midshipman in the navy. The
vessel on which he was employed was dismantled at Wilming-
ton, and he sought employment as a teacher. After some years,
he moved to Hillsboro, where he married a daughter of Col.
William Shepperd, and had a famous school until he removed
to Tennessee. He was succeeded at the Innes Academy by Rev.
Adam Empie, rector of St. James’s, at one time chaplain at
West Point, a man of fine culture, whose volume of published

656

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

sermons entitles him to fame. He married a daughter of Judge
Wright, and was the father of Adam Empie, Esq.

Other teachers at the “Old Academy” were Rev. Mr. Lath-
rop, Captain Mitchell, who had been a sea captain, Messrs.
Hartshorn, Lowry, Joy, Wilkes, and Burke.

A review of the educational facilities of Wilmington prior to
the war of 1861 would be incomplete without reference to the
admirable private school for hoys conducted by Mr. Levin
Meginney, a contemporary of Mr. G. W. Jewett, whose insti-
tute has been mentioned elsewhere in the Chronicles. These
two school principals were widely divergent in their profes-
sional characteristics, but they worked in harmony, and Mr.
Meginney extended to us (of the Jewett school) the courtesy of
the use of his larger auditorium for our weekly declamations.

Mr. Meginney was a Marylander, who came to Wilmington
during the forties. Buying the building that had been used for
the Odd Fellows’ School, he opened an institute that became the
largest in Wilmington at the time. He was recognized as one
of the foremost educators of his day, and his strong moral in-
fluence was a blessing to the community, the far-reaching effects
of which are still felt in the men of character and purpose who,
as youths, were trained in his school. Although unable, be-
cause of injury to one arm, to shoulder a musket, he did what
he could, as a devoted Southerner, for the cause of the Con-
federacy during the War between the States, giving largely of
his means, and in particular helping to fit out one of the first
gunboats. Though giving his enthusiastic love and loyalty un-
reservedly to the Southern cause, both during the war and in,
the trying days following it, Mr. Meginney was just and
generous to the teachers who came to Wilmington from other
sections. He was the first to welcome Miss Amy Bradley, a
Northern lady, who came after the war to open the Hemenway
School. There are many yet living who remember his gracious,
old-time courtesy to all, and the sweet and beneficent influence
of his fine character. Some of the most prominent men in Wil-
mington were his pupils and remember him with gratitude and
affection.

Shortly before the war, among other schools at Wilmington
was Radcliffe’s Military Academy; and for girls there were
the high school kept by Rev. Mr. Backus and the fine school
of the Misses Burr and James. After the war, the latter was
reopened ; and the wife of Gen. Robert Ransom had a finishing

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657

school, while General Colston for years kept a fine military
academy.

Another excellent school was that of Miss Kate Kennedy and
Miss Annie Hart, which was established shortly after the four
years’ war. It was thoroughly equipped with prominent and
efficient instructors, notably Professors Mumford, Bunker,
Meade, Graham, Baudry, Tallichet, Tamborrella, Joseph
Denck, and Miss Mordecai. After Miss Kennedy’s marriage to
Hr. A. J. BeBosset, in 1877, the school passed under new
management. It is now conducted by Miss Hart and Miss
Brown, ably assisted by Miss Hobday, of Virginia. Mrs. A. M.
Waddell and Mrs. Devereux Lippitt were for a time instruct-
ors in music and in painting. The reputation of this school in
Wilmington is unexcelled.

One of the most useful teachers connected with private edu-
cation in Wilmington was Mrs. Laura P. Both well, whose
record as a teacher here extended over sixty-seven years. Her
devoted Christian life was reflected in many homes blessed by
her careful training and by her beautiful life of faithful serv-
ice. Mrs. Both well died in 1899, at the age of eighty-three.

Public Education in Wilmington.

In every community there are builders of character, and the
building is based on the gold, silver, and precious stones of love
and sacrifice. That great apostle of education, Lord Brougham,
has said: “It is with unspeakable delight that I contemplate

the rich gifts that have been bestowed, the honest zeal displayed,
by private persons for the benefit of their fellow-creatures.
How many persons do I myself know to whom it is only neces-
sary to say there are men without employment, children unedu-
cated, sufferers in prison, victims of disease, wretches pining in
want, and straightway they will abandon all other pursuits, as
if they themselves had not large families to provide for, and
toil for days and for nights, stolen from their most necessary
avocations, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shed upon
the children of the poor that inestimable blessing of education,
which gave themselves the wish and the power to relieve their
fellow-men.”

Of Mr. James H. Chadbourn, sr., one of our citizens who
presented his body a living sacrifice for others, it may be said

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

that his greatest and most effective work was that in the cause
of education by public schools.

In his earnest, quiet, unobtrusive way, he became one of the
pillars of this noble work of the State in Wilmington, and his
chief characteristics — virtue, intelligence, decision, industry,
perseverance, and economy — were brought to bear upon this
great enterprise with such far-reaching results that eternity
alone can reveal their extent. He honestly regarded public
office as a public trust, and carefully fulfilled his obligations
with unflagging zeal and painstaking economy. His business
life and studious habits preserved his mind in vigorous and
healthful action. He made a constant study of popular educa-
tion, and mastered its problems in each successive stage.

Prof. John J. Blair, who has been for nearly fifteen years
our capable superintendent of city schools, has kindly prepared
for the Chronicles a narrative of the development of popular
education in Wilmington.

Public Schools.

By Peof. John J. Blair.

The history of education in the Cape P ear section is, of course,
similar to and in accordance with the State’s educational policy,
modified to a certain extent by local influences and needs, and
the ideas of individuals.

In 1825, a “Literary Fund” was created, the author of the
hill providing for this being Bartlett Yancey, hut it was not
until 1839 that the first bill providing for free schools in every
county was passed.1

Between 1840 and 1850 a more elaborate system of schools
was put in operation, hut for lack of one responsible head and
uniformity of administration, chaos and failure resulted.2

DECADE OF 1850 TO 1860.

The educational history of our State from 1850, extending
over a period of the next sixteen years, centers around the char-
acter and deeds of one man, Hr. Calvin H. Wiley. He was

iDr. Frederick Hill, of Orton, was a strong advocate of public educa-
tion, was one of the authors of the legislation on the subject, and was
called in Wilmington the “father of public schools.”

2There was financial cooperation, the State furnishing a part and the
people of the district a part of the fund. It was good for a beginning.

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elected in December, 1852, and on January 1, 1853, at the age
of thirty-four years, assumed the duties of this newly-made and
responsible office, under the title of superintendent of common
schools. He began at once many needed reforms, and made
provision by which teachers could be prepared and secured for
the work.

An extract from Dr. Joyner’s address at the unveiling of a
monument to Calvin H. Wiley in Winston in 1904 can not be
too often repeated in connection with this notable administra-
tion. The speaker said : “Under his shaping hand, the system
grew and improved, and the schools prospered until it could be
truthfully said at the beginning of the War between the States
that North Carolina had the best system of common schools in
the South.” Dr. Wiley continued to hold the office of superin-
tendent until it was abolished in 1866.

THE UNION FREE SCHOOL.

In addition to the schools of the town of Wilmington, there
were in the county New Hanover Academy, 1833; Rock Dish
Academy, 1834; Black Creek Female Institution, 1846; and
there were schools at Rocky Point constantly from 1846 at least
to 1850; Topsail, 1851; Union (at Harrell’s Store), 1854;
Rocky Point, 1867.

The name “Union” was applied to any school in which pri-
vate and public interests were united in accordance with an act
of the General Assembly.

In a letter written to Silas N. Martin by John W. Barnes,
a history of the Union Free School from 1856 to 1862 is given:

“A meeting of citizens was held in the summer of 1856 in
the vicinity of ‘The Oaks,’ and it was decided to raise the neces-
sary money and material for the purchase of a lot and the con-
struction of a building. The deed was executed November 3,
1856, to James Green, John Barnes, and Thomas Freshwater,
as trustees, and the same recorded December 31.

“In April, 1857, a meeting of the subscribers was held in
the new building, in which it was decided to start the school
the first of May, and to continue three months experimentally.
Mr. Martin, Mr. VanBokkelen, and Mr. Fanning were ap-
pointed to employ a teacher and put the Union Free School
in operation. The Board of Superintendents of Common
Schools for New Hanover cooperated with the committee,

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

whereby they received the benefit of all the funds appropriated,
which arrangement existed until July 1, 1863, a period of six
years. The schoolhouse originally seated one hundred pupils.
In 1859 a room capable of holding forty scholars was added.”
The letter states further : “On account of the absence of Mr.

Martin from the State in 1862, Mr. B. G. Worth was appointed
his successor, and nobly sustained the school from his private
means in connection with the amount received from the common
school fund.

“The largest enrollment at one time was one hundred and
forty-five, and the smallest about one hundred, this being the
number for the summer months of June and July.”

DECADE 1870-1880— THE WILMINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

In the case of every great enterprise or achievement, interest
in its first beginning increases with the passing of the years,
while personal knowledge and first-hand information concerning
the event diminishes proportionately with each generation. At
this present time, when the city’s rapid growth and increase in
population made the expansion and enlargement of her school
accommodations imperative, inquiry is frequently made con-
cerning the origin of this most important and vital enterprise.
So closely and intimately was the work of Miss Amy Morris
Bradley interwoven with our early public school system, that
her labors should always receive the public recognition which
is justly due.

1. Her influence and suggestion are responsible for the name
which the Hemenway and Union Schools bear.

2. There was never any conflict between her private interest
and the community’s public interest.

3. The trained and skillful teachers whom she gathered
around her in turn trained others, who incorporated into the
public schools the best and most modern methods of instruction.

4. Her schools were recognized by the State, for in the year
1870 she received from the State fund $1,266.71.

5. The Union School house, in which was taught the Tileston
Normal School, composed from the Union Grammar School,
passed into the hands of the county in October, 1871, when the
new brick Tileston building was opened.

6. This building, in turn, by a deed of gift, became the prop-
erty of the city of Wilmington in 1901, through the mediation
of Mr. James H. Chadhourn, a personal friend of Mrs. Hemen-

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661

way, and for many years chairman of the Joint School Com-
mittee of the city of Wilmington.

A large bronze tablet at the entrance hears the following
inscription :

TILESTON MEMORIAL SCHOOL
Built by

MARY HEMENWAY, OF BOSTON,

Who established herein a school for the White People of this com-
munity in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one and maintained
the same at her own cost for twenty years under the devoted adminis-
tration of

AMY MORRIS BRADLEY.

Given to

The City of Wilmington
In the Year Nineteen Hundred and One,
in the name of
MARY HEMENWAY.

Accordingly, on the 9th day of October, 1872, the old Union
and Hemenway buildings were abandoned, turned over to the
Free School Committee, and the schools were combined and
established under the name of the Tileston Formal School in
the new brick structure. The cornerstone had been laid with
considerable ceremony, November 31, 1871, and the building
was erected under the supervision of James Walker, builder, of
Wilmington, at a cost of $30,000.

The school continued in popular favor until the summer of
1886. During all this period $5,000 a year was donated by
Mrs. Hemenway for support and maintenance. This amount,
together with a small tuition fee, afforded ample funds to carry
on the work.

When the decade of 1870 to 1880 dawned upon the people of
North Carolina, interference on the part of the United States
Government with the affairs which rightfully belong to a State
had begun to disappear. There was deep gratification at the im-
proved condition of affairs, and the large gain made by friends
of the South in Congress was also a source of encouragement.
Energy and industry were fast removing the traces of war, and
individuals bravely struggled to restore their shattered for-
tunes. During this decade a change of sentiment began to be
felt in New Hanover County in regard to the attitude of the
people toward free public education. Previous to this time
“well-to-do people,” and those who are usually spoken of as
“socially prominent,” entirely ignored and disregarded the free

662

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

public schools.1 The very name seemed to carry some reproach
with it. In fact, until comparatively recent times, the boast
of attending a “pay school” was thought to carry with it a mark
of certain personal distinction.

Tor the year 1870-71 a reference to the free schools of the
city is made in a letter to the commissioners of Hew Hanover
County by James H. Chadbourn, William T. Carr, and Wil-
liam A. French. They say: “In the first communication you

were informed that there were no schoolhouses within the
limits of the township belonging to the State or county.

“The committee subsequently, with the approval of the board
and the superintendent of public instruction, purchased the
Hemenway schoolhouse of Miss Amy M. Bradley for $3,000,
with the promise on her part that the money she received from
it should be expended in continuing her two schools, then in
successful operation.

“The cost of sustaining the Hemenway and Union Schools
for the last two years has been $10,850.40 — $1,266.70 from the
State, $2,500 from the Peabody Fund, $3,000 from the sale
of the Hemenway schoolhouse, and the balance, $4,083.70, from
the friends of Miss Bradley and her work.

“It seems to the committee that the beneficial influence of
these schools for the young of the city can not be overestimated.”

The Wilmington Post of April 11, 1872, gives an account of
a visit at that time of the State superintendent of public in-
struction, Alexander Mclver, to the city of Wilmington. It
says : “Mr. Mclver comes to the work of educating the masses
and the establishment of free schools throughout the State of
Uorth Carolina. His desire now is to interest the public in the
work. He desires that united effort be made at once, so as to
secure some complete system for the successful establishment of
free schools in the city of Wilmington, by the city, as provided
in its charter amended in 1868.”

DECADE OF 1880-1890— ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WILMINGTON
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

This sketch would not be complete without a reference to
the campaign of enlightenment carried on under the direction
of the Legislature by Dr. E. A. Alderman and C. D. Mclver.

iWhile the public-school system was maintained during the War be-
tween the States, because of the results of the war the public schools
were closed in 1865-66. In 1867 there was Reconstruction, and there
were no public schools until 1872.

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663

They met the teachers in every county in the State and taught
them how to teach. They held public meetings and educational
rallies. They made eloquent speeches. They urged the people
to vote taxes to support schools. Since this notable campaign,
educational progress in North Carolina has been easier.

Information with regard to the two free public schools, Union
and Hemenway, between 1872 and 1882, is comparatively
vague and indefinite. The year 1882, however, marked the be-
ginning of an effective organization with an executive head,
whose office was that of superintendent of city public schools,
and the system then began to assume a different aspect as a
factor in the educational life of the city.

The situation is described by the superintendent himself, Mr.
M. C. S. Noble, who was elected to this responsible office in the
summer of 1882. Previous to this the authority over the two
white and colored districts was vested in the county superin-
tendent. It does not take a vivid imagination to see the situa-
tion as it appeared to him at that time. In referring to his first
visit to the schools, he says: “I pictured to myself large, im-

posing buildings, situated in well-kept grounds, when our buggy
stopped in deep sand out in front of the old Union School on
Sixth Street between Nun and Church, and just in the rear of
Fifth Street Methodist Church. It contained three rooms, and
had a seating capacity of one hundred and twenty-five pupils.
There were three teachers, and the average attendance was one
hundred. Lastly, we went to the Hemenway, then situated on
the lot directly south of St. Andrew’s Church, on Fourth Street.
It was a little cottage-looking affair, with four rooms, a seating
capacity of about one hundred and fifty pupils, and an average
attendance of about one hundred and twenty-five.”

The growth of the enterprise is noted by a comparison of this
early report with that made by the superintendent of schools
for the year 1886 : “Number of children in school, white,

2,051 ; colored, 3,209 : total, 5,260. Average monthly enroll-
ment, white, 444; colored, 757: total, 1,201. Average daily
attendance, white, 363; colored, 550: total, 913.” This report
also states that there were at this time 575 white children en-
rolled in the Tileston Normal School.

The school committees consisted of the following: District

No. 1, Donald MacRae, chairman, William M. Parker, Joseph
E. Sampson; District No. 2, James H. Chadbourn, chairman,
Walker Meares, John G. Norwood.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

In the paragraph on school buildings there appears this
reference: “The Hemenway building for whites is well ar-

ranged and well supplied with comfortable seats. The Union
building, in White District Ho. 2, is comfortable, but in every
other respect it is entirely unfit for school purposes. After
many years of waiting and vexatious delay, the committee hope
to have a handsome building ready for occupancy next fall.”
This wish was realized, as the following extract shows: “In

1886, the pupils were moved from the old school into the hand-
some new Union building at the northwest corner of Sixth and
Ann. It contained eight large schoolrooms and a beautiful
hall.”

In the spring of 1891 the fire alarm sounded “48,” and it was
the Union School building on fire. It caught from a defective
flue and burned to the ground. The new structure was built
upon the foundation of the old one, and on the first Monday of
the following October the new building, as you see it today,
was occupied. In 1889, a building like the Union was built
upon a lot running through from Fifth to Sixth, between Chest-
nut and Walnut, which had been purchased through the earnest
advice of Mr. Horace Bagg.

On Saturday night early in the summer vacation of 1897,
some one set fire to the new Hemenway, and the next morning
this beautiful building was a mass of smoking ruins, This
school was at once rebuilt, and turned over ready for the open-
ing on the first Monday in October in that year.

DECADE 1890-1900— GROWTH OF THE HIGH-SCHOOL IDEA.

The high school as an organic part of the public-school system ,
had its origin at a very recent date. Previous to 1890 most of
the graded-school reports show provision for primary and
grammar grades only. The superintendent’s report for Wil-
mington, 1886, shows a provision for six grades only. Ho refer-
ence is made in this report to a high school. It was evidently
intended that the private schools which had flourished in the
towns and cities for a long time should take care of advanced
work, and in fact by many it seemed to be regarded as their
rightful heritage and possession.

During this decade there was an aggressive opposition to the
public high-school idea. In Raleigh, so determined was this
opposition, in the interest of the existing academy, that some of
its citizens had a law passed forbidding the teaching of high-

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665

school subjects in the public schools. Later, the Raleigh Acad-
emy gave way to the high school, its principal becoming the
principal of the high school.

In Wilmington, the idea began to take shape in the mind of
the superintendent soon after the schools were moved into the
new Hemenway and Union School buildings, for he began grad-
ually to add high-school subjects and thus to enrich the course
of study.

The school committees, with prophetic vision, saw the neces-
sity for it in order to close up the gap between the grammar
school and the State University. As evidence of their faith in
it, they bought at this time a lot at the corner of Third and
Market Streets, where the Colonial Inn now stands, and moved
the advanced classes from the lower schools into the little one-
story schoolhouse just south of the courthouse, on Third Street.
This remained Wilmington’s high school until the year 1897,
when the advanced classes from the Hemenway, Union, and
Third Street Schools, numbering in all one hundred, with four
teachers in charge, moved into the Tileston Normal building.
The city came into control of this building by a lease obtained
through the personal efforts of Mr. James H. Chadbourn, then
chairman of the joint committee. The following May the first
graduating exercises were held and certificates were given to
three girl graduates. Each year there were gratifying increases.
The class of 1914 numbered 30, bringing the total number of
graduates up to 315. In 1910, nine more rooms were added
and a faculty of fourteen teachers and a principal employed.

1900-1914.

On January 5, 1899, Mr. John J. Blair succeeded Mr. Noble
as superintendent. A few leading events of this period are
enumerated below:

In 1901, by deed of gift, the Tileston building and half of
that city block became the property of the city of Wilmington.

In 1904 an addition of fourteen rooms was made to the Union
School, and just previous to this, eight rooms were added to the
Hemenway.

In 1909 a local tax of fifteen cents on the one-hundred-dollar
valuation was voted by the entire county, and New Hanover was
the first county to become a special tax district.

In 1910, under an enactment of Congress, eleven city blocks
of land back of the Marine Hospital were secured by the Board
of Education for park and school purposes.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

In 1911 the gift by Mr. Sam Bear of a beautiful brick school
building afforded a valuable and much-needed addition to the
equipment of the system.

The schools have increased proportionately with the growth
of the city, and the enrollment has reached the grand total
of four thousand, nearly three thousand of whom are white
children.

The faculty in charge now numbers nearly one hundred per-
sons.

Fortunately, the management of the schools has been in the
hands of capable and conservative business men, and to serve
on the County Board of Education or on either one of the com-
mittees of the different districts, has been deemed a great honor.
So, to the integrity and high character of those who fill these
offices of trust and responsibility, rendering free of cost valuable
service to the community, is largely due whatever of success
may have been achieved.

LOYALTY OF THE CAPE FEAK PEOPLE TO THE
STATE UNIVERSITY.

It is fitting to mention the devotion of the people of the Lower
Cape Fear to the venerable University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill which has been manifest in the records of several
generations. Reference has been made in the Chronicles to
the larger gifts of Governor Benjamin Smith, of Orton, but the
following list of donations from the Wilmington district as
early as 1193-94, noted in Dr. Kemp P. Battle’s admirable His-
tory of the University of North Carolina, will be read with
interest by the descendants of the donors.

Alfred Moore $200

Edward Jones 30

Griffith John McRee 20

Peter Mallett 80

Nathaniel Hill 20

Henry Toomer 60

John G. Wright 25

Robert Whitehurst Snead.... 40

William Wingate 15

Samuel Houston 15

Thomas Brown 30

Hugh Waddell 30

Joshua Potts $ 15

Thomas Hill 40

J. R. Gautier 60

James Moore, sr 50

Thomas Ashe 50

Alexius M. Forster 12

Henry d’Herbe 8

James Kenan 50

Samuel Ashe (son of the gen-
eral) 60

Anthony Toomer 10

John Brown 5

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667

John Cathorda $ 10

Michael Sampson 20

James Read 20

William Montfort 10

Nehemiah Harris 5

William Bingham 20

Marshall Wilkings 10

William Davis 8

John Allen 6

John Blakeley 20

John Fulwood 10

John A. Campbell 30

John Lord 10

Amariah Jocelyn 10

William E. Lord 20

James Walker 50

John London 40

William H. Hill 60

John McKenzie 60

Christopher Dudley 20

James Moore (Clerk) 20

Richard Quince, sr 40

Richard Quince, jr 20

James Flowers 15

John Hill 80

William Campbell 60

Thomas Moore $60

William Hall (Sheriff of Bruns-
wick) 20

Samuel Ashe, jr 30

Samuel Hall 10

Samuel R. Jocelyn 20

John Fergus 25

Duncan Stewart 25

John Burgwin 100

William Green 15

Thomas Wright 15

Frederick Jones 30

Henry Urquhart 10

William Cutlar 10

John James 20

George Davis 20

George McKenzie 60

Spafford Drewry 10

Daniel McNeil 25

George Gibbs 8

Hugh Campbell 10

J. Scott Cray 20

John Peter Martin 10

John Hall 15

James Spiller 60

John Campbell 5

How well the genius of the University was described by Presi-
dent Venable a few years ago: “A shining light in the dark-

ness, clearly and patiently directing the course of those who
would travel the pathway to knowledge and the higher life ; a
center of gracious and helpful influence streaming out into the
whole land; a strong foundation unmoved by frenzied passion,
by the shifting sands of political change, by the bigotry of igno-
rance, or the selfish bias of wealth, a treasure which can not be
bought or sold away from the people, by whom and for whom
it was created ; a loving mother of many noble sons, whom it is
her pride to help and nourish and lead upwards to the light.”
And how well is his eloquent description of the true functions
of the institution sustained by the succeeding administrations of
that distinguished and devoted son of the Cape Fear, President
Edward Kidder Graham, who writes thus in his annual report
for the year 1914-15 : “It is with a profound sense of happiness
that I report the conviction, fortified in many substantial ways,
that the alumni, the students, and the public at large are taking
a more continuous and sympathetic interest in the serious work

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

of the University. Loyalty to the institution is losing none of
the enthusiasm that finds its occasional magnetic center in great
athletic contests; hut it is steadily receiving also a far deeper
and richer interpretation. There have been, during the past
year, many inspiring evidences that we are coming more and
more to see that true loyalty to the University consists not
merely in pride in the institution, nor merely in love for it as
our Alma Mater ; hut also, and mainly, in our personal devotion
to the high things for which the institution stands, and our
practical service in making these things prevail. This devotion
we share with all good men everywhere whose aims and ideals
are kindred, and with every agency that seeks to make them
effective in the life of the State. The essential character of the
institution is cooperation in its fullest and deepest sense; it is
the institution for expressing in intelligent and constructive
terms all of those varied aspects of human effort that make
complete and unified the life of the State. Adequate equipment,
therefore, to do its work with freedom and vigor, it asks not in
any selfish measure, hut as the heart of the general good. If we
view it in the lesser way of partisanship, whether friendly or
unfriendly, we shall think too lightly of its mission, misconceive
its true character and potential greatness, and so fail to give
it the means to perform its functions with the strength, the
vision, and the cdnfident faith necessary to the leadership com-
mitted to its care.”

THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD.

The equipment, rails, and rolling stock of the Wilmington
and Weldon Railroad and its connections north and south were
thoroughly worn out at the end of the war, so that when peace
came there was need for entire rehabiliment. Mr. Walters,
Mr. Newcomer, and Mr. Jenkins, of Baltimore, becoming in-
terested in the property, so managed it that in a few years it
became wonderfully productive, and under their control it was
a nucleus of railway development. From it has arisen, Phoenix-
like, the Atlantic Coast Line, in its equipment and management
one of the finest examples of railroad development in modern
times. It has been called the aorta of Wilmington’s commercial
and industrial life. Without it Wilmington could not have
flourished. Many of our inhabitants of slender means depend

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upon its dividends for their daily bread — others of larger for-
tunes have always preferred to invest in its shares, not only on
account of its admirable physical equipment and its stable finan-
cial policy, hut also because Mr. Henry Walters, the chairman
of the board, and his associates in its excellent management,
command the respect, the confidence, and the admiration of its
stockholders, large and small.

From this training school of the thousands who depend upon
it for their occupation and support have arisen many young
men, succeeding to vacant places of responsibility and honor,
because the quality of their instruction has been of the best and
their industrious application has resulted in deserved promo-
tions.

In July, 1898, the connecting lines of the Wilmington and
Weldon Railroad in South Carolina were consolidated under
the name Atlantic Coast Line of South Carolina, and in Noveim
her following the lines from Richmond to Garysburg were or-
ganized as the Atlantic Coast Line of Virginia. Two years
later, the above companies were consolidated with the Wilming-
ton and Weldon and its tributary lines in North Carolina under
the name Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and in 1902 the Plant
system in Florida and Georgia was consolidated with the At-
lantic Coast Line. Thus the present Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
road, having more than 4,600 miles of track, extends from
Richmond and Norfolk on the north, to Tampa, St. Petersburg,
and Fort Meyers on the south, and to Montgomery on the west,
traversing the great coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard,
through the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The country through which
it passes is rich in agricultural development and possibilities,
and the trucking industry on its lines has grown to enormous
proportions. Near Wilmington is the greatest strawberry-pro-
ducing belt in the world. These berries are shipped to the
Northern markets from this section in great quantities each
year, and are considered a most profitable crop.

Starting in Virginia, with its grain and other hardy crops,
the line passes through the cotton and tobacco belt, thence
through the wonderful garden-truck section of the Carolinas
and Georgia into the semi-tropical sections of Florida, abound-
ing in citrus fruits of unrivaled quality as well as early vege-
tables of every variety, which the fortunate introduction of the
art of making ice, invented by Gorrie, and the use of refrigera-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tor cars have enabled the carriers to transport in a fresh con-
dition to the great markets of the North.

The remarkable diversity of soil and climate is steadily at-
tracting the attention of settlers, and the Atlantic Coast Line
Railroad Company, through its Industrial and Immigration
Bureau, by cooperation with State agricultural colleges, and in
other ways, has left no stone unturned to develop and advance
an interest in agriculture. During the past year a car equipped
with the agricultural products and resources of the States
through which its line runs was exhibited at many fairs at the
North and Northwest.

The products of the forest, including naval stores, form a
most important part of the tonnage of the line, running as it
does through the great pine and cypress belts of the South. Nor
is this section dependent on the forest alone for its growth and
prosperity, its manufactures, chiefly cotton goods, being impor-
tant factors. The phosphate industry particularly is an impor-
tant one, and the rails of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
company reach the rich deposits of phosphate in Florida and
South Carolina.

The Atlantic Coast Line has about 1,700 miles of its track
in the State of Florida. New lines are now being built to open
up further the rich phosphate beds and the citrus fruit belt of
that wonderful section of our country.

This road took an important part in the War between the
States, and, as already indicated, it had to be practically rebuilt
at its close.

The general offices of the company have always been located
in Wilmington. Starting with a few men in 1840, it now has
employed at headquarters about one thousand men, and to meet
the constantly increasing business there has been built in recent
years one of the handsomest railroad office buildings in the
South. This structure, six stories in height, is of concrete and
steel construction, and cost, with train sheds and concourse,
approximately $375,000.

Wilmington is one of the important points on the Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad. Cotton is its principal export, although
large quantities of naval stores, lumber, and other products are
handled. It had at one time the distinction of being the largest
naval-stores market in the world, but this industry has gradually
moved southward, and now Savannah or Brunswick claims
precedence. During the season of 1914 there was cleared from

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Wilmington one of the largest single cargoes of cotton ever
shipped from any Atlantic port.

It is a far cry from the passenger train of 1840, with its
crude equipment, on which a passenger had to pay seven cents
per mile or more to travel, to the magnificent trains of today,
with their powerful locomotives and steel passenger equipment,
on which one may ride for two cents a mile. The Atlantic Coast
Line Railroad Company runs daily, during the winter months,
four through passenger trains, with the most modern Pullman
equipment, from Hew York and eastern cities to Jacksonville
and other Florida points. It also runs daily five passenger
trains, with modern Pullman equipment, from Chicago to
Florida points, connecting with the Coast Line rails at Mont-
gomery, Albany, and Tifton. From Key West and Tampa
direct connection is made with modern passenger steamers for
Havana and other points in Cuba.

At one time all of the through trains between the Horth and
the South moved via Wilmington, hut in 1892, in order to
shorten the distance materially and thus to compete more effec-
tively for the Florida travel, a line was completed from Con-
tentnea to Pee Dee, a distance of 141 miles. This line opened
up also a fine farming section.

The Atlantic Coast Line is generally known and advertised
, as “The Standard Railroad of the South.” It is the constant
aim of the management to maintain this standard and to merit
this distinction.

THE SEABOARD AIR LIKE RAILROAD.

The Wilmington, Charlotte, and Rutherford Railroad was
chartered February 13, 1855, and by 1861 there were built 103
miles on the eastern division, and from Charlotte to Lincoln ton
on the western division. The road was sold April 10, 1873,
and reorganized as the Carolina Central Railway Company, and
was completed to Charlotte and Shelby in the latter part of
1874, comprising a total distance of 242 miles.

The Carolina Central Railway was sold May 31, 1880, and
reorganized as the Carolina Central Railroad Company, July
14, 1880, when the late Capt. David R. Murchison was made
president.

It traversed the counties of Hew Hanover, Brunswick, Colum-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

bus, Bladen, Kobeson, Richmond, Anson, Union, Mecklenburg,
Gaston, Lincoln, and Cleveland — a section highly productive of
turpentine, cotton, and other articles of export, the class and
grade of cotton grown in Anson and Union Counties being supe-
rior to that of any other section in the State.

Prior to the organization of the Seaboard Air Line Railway
in 1900, the Seaboard had no lines south of its Carolina Central
Railroad except its one line from Monroe to Atlanta. Before
this consolidation in 1900, the old Seaboard Air Line system of j
roads had a total mileage of approximately 925 miles. Today
its mileage is 3,074 miles, exclusive of its ownership of such
lines as the Raleigh and Charleston, Marion and Southern,
Tampa Northern, and other short lines of varying length.

The main track southwestward from the Carolina Central
leads from Monroe through Atlanta to Birmingham, the center 1
of the South’s iron and steel manufacturing industry, connect-
ing there for interchange of passenger and freight traffic with
the direct lines to the Mississippi and Missouri River territory,
and through New Orleans and Shreveport to the Southwest and
Mexico.

The line southward from Hamlet leads to deep water at Sa-
vannah and to Jacksonville, where connection is made to the
east coast of Florida, to Cuba, and to Nassau. Also, its line
runs through the northern part of the State and along the Gulf
of Mexico, and northward from Tampa. From Savannah it has
lines to Montgomery and through southern Alabama.

The system is serving a very material portion of the South’s
progressive territory, and is entitled to its adopted trade-mark
of “The Progressive Railway of the South,” and on its list of
directors and general officers there is shown a preponderance of
Southern-born men in its management. Its headquarters are
maintained at Baltimore, the chief Southern city on the Atlan-
tic coast.

The original Carolina Central Railroad has performed for
many years an obviously valuable duty to the people of North
Carolina, connecting, as it does, some of the most attractive
western and middle counties with the coastal section, and as the
other parts of the system developed it added strength to this link,
extending to the communities in proportion to their abilities.
Thus Wilmington has felt a strong impetus from the extension
of the Seaboard. Indeed, Wilmington’s attractive shore front
was found to be nearer to the populous communities of the in-

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terior, as far south as Atlanta, than any other Atlantic sea
resort ; and from all that section of Georgia and South Carolina,
as well as from the sections of North Carolina served, many
inhabitants of the inland areas seek the attractions of Wrights-
ville Beach during the summer months.

The original promoters of the Carolina Central Railroad had
a vision that it would cross the mountain chain and afford ready
connection with the States lying beyond, and in later years this
has been realized by the construction of the fine Clinchfield
property from Rutherford County across the mountains, through
the States of Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, to the
most valuable coal deposit east of the Rocky Mountains; and
thus has the dream of these original enthusiasts come true.
Across the rugged mountain chain is an excellent carrier, offer-
ing easy and comfortable transportation to a territory which, in
their day, was far from direct connection with the eastern sec-
tion of North Carolina.

Agriculture, the backbone of all prosperity, widely extended
in the States served by the Seaboard, has called for the ampli-
fication of fertilizer manufacturing and distributing facilities,
and Wilmington has shared largely in the extension of this
important industry. Eavored with an excellent channel and
capacity for docking ships, and a wide area of rail distribution
therefrom, it serves the continued extension of territory with
its accumulated fertilizer material.

At Wilmington, the Seaboard has terminal facilities of the
value of one million dollars, comprising two thousand feet of
water front on the Cape Eear River, with a twenty-six foot
depth at mean low water, five large terminal warehouses, and
three slips. There have recently been erected terminal mechan-
ical facilities, including coal elevator, turntable, repair track,
and additional yard facilities. Within the past seven or eight
years the Seaboard has spent half a million dollars in improve-
ment of its terminals at Wilmington. The storage capacity of
its Wilmington warehouses is approximately one hundred thou-
sand tons.

Mindful of the value to its territory of agricultural exten-
sion, the Seaboard has provided a department charged with this
duty — to promote the best methods, better agricultural condi-
tions, better marketing; the establishment of industries in its
territory; the bringing in of good citizens from States of the
Union less favored in climate and soil, and in every way to
advance the welfare of the agricultural class.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

William J. Harahan, president of the Seaboard Air Line
Railway, whose office is in Norfolk, was born December 22,
1867, at Nashville, Tennessee. He entered the railway service
in 1881. A messenger and clerk in the office of the superin-
tendent of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, New Orleans,
in 1884, he has risen by gradations first to the vice presidency
of the Erie Railroad, January, 1911, and then, September 26,
1912, to the presidency of the Seaboard Air Line Railway.

The evolution of a great enterprise illustrates the law of
natural selection and the survival of the fittest.

Charles R. Capps, the vice president, was born in Norfolk,
Va., March 4, 1871, and educated at Roanoke College, 1886-
1888. He entered the railway service in 1888 as messenger of
the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Until July 12, 1895, he
held various positions in the general freight office of the Sea-
board Air Line, and from December 1, 1909, he has been vice
president of the same system. Through many financial vicissi-
tudes and changes of administration in the Seaboard Air Line,
he has stood fast in his loyalty to his first love, declining attract-
ive offers of more profitable employment elsewhere, and with
his promotion step by step, he has fulfilled and exceeded the
highest expectations of the Seaboard management, until today
he is generally recognized as one of the most eminent traffic
managers of the railroad world.

An important factor in the development of this great rail-
road system was that watchdog of the treasury, Capt. John H.
Sharp, now of Atlanta.

When, in 1862, the Seaboard and the Raleigh and Gaston Rail-
road bought of Capt. D. R. Murchison the controlling interest
in the Carolina Central Railroad stock, Capt. John H. Sharp,
formerly of Norfolk, was employed by Mr. John M. Robinson,
president, to take up his residence in Wilmington and proceed
to open up a new set of books, in order to make the accounts of
the Carolina Central correspond with those of the parent roads.
On the retirement by reason of physical infirmities of Treasurer
James Andrews, Captain Sharp, who had been the secretary of
the company, was chosen treasurer to succeed him. On J uly 2,
1893, when the headquarters of the Seaboard System were moved
to Portsmouth, Va., the treasury departments of all roads of the
system were consolidated, and upon the recommendation of
Mr. M. V. Chambliss, treasurer of the Seaboard, Captain Sharp
was chosen treasurer of all roads of the system, which necessi-

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675

tated his leaving Wilmington. While a resident here he fra-
ternized with onr prominent citizens, and it was a matter of
sincere regret upon the part of all that a separation took place.
From that time until now he has felt an interest in Wilmington
as great as when a resident here. This is manifested by his
annual visits. When in January, 1904, Mr. T. F. Ryan ob-
tained control of the Seaboard system, Captain Sharp and his
colleagues were not reelected to their respective positions. That
Captain Sharp’s services with the company were appreciated,
however, is manifest by the fact that his name is still retained
on the pay roll of the system.

HUGH MACRAE’S ACTIVITIES.

A remarkable family to whom Wilmington owes much is the
MacRae family. In 1770 Roderick MacRae, called Ruari Doun
(Brown Roderick), landed at Wilmington and went to Chatham
County, where he married Catherine Burke. One of their sons,
Colin, married Christian Black, of Cumberland County, and
their eldest son, Alexander, in 1824, when about eighteen years
of age settled in Wilmington, where for three generations the
MacRaes have led in enterprises of importance to the com-
munity. The first of the name in Wilmington, Alexander, long
known as Gen. Alexander MacRae, was a leader in the construc-
tion of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. To the intelli-
gence and enterprise of one of his sons, Col. John MacRae,
chairman of the building committee, was chiefly due the erection
of our beautiful City Hall, one of the finest examples of classic
architecture in the South. Another son, Donald MacRae, was
for fifty years one of the foremost citizens of the town, ever
promoting what was for its advantage, and his example has been
followed by his two sons, Donald and Hugh.

Of Hugh MacRae it is to he said that of all the men of public
spirit who have labored to advance the interest of the Cape Fear,
he is entitled to preeminence. A philosopher has said that the
man who plants a tree is a public benefactor. Of how much
greater service to mankind is he who plants a colony of small
farmers in a wilderness of waste land, and by the application of
modern scientific methods makes that wilderness blossom and
hear fruit and food products a hundredfold ! This Hugh Mac-
Rae has accomplished, adding immensely to the debt of grati-

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

tude which the community owes to those whose name he so
worthily bears for their public spirit and commendable enter-
prise.

For a number of years it was Mr. MacRae’s wish to secure
immigrants to he located in the vicinity of Wilmington, and
eventually he was able to establish five colonies, with about three
hundred people in each. He colonized Italians at St. Helena,
Hungarians and Hollanders at Castle Haynes, Poles at Mara-
thon, Germans at Newberlin, and Hollanders and Poles at
Artesia. Americans and some of other nationalities also have
been located at Castle Haynes and at Artesia. This enterprise
has now passed beyond the experimental stage and is a pro-
nounced success. It is a monument to the sagacity and perse-
verance of Mr. MacRae, and, in accomplishing what has been
achieved, despite great obstacles, he has the satisfaction of real-
izing that he has been a benefactor to his community.

The Watee Powee Company.

Another of Mr. MacRae’s enterprises has been of the utmost
importance. Ho city can realize its greatest development with-
out good public utilities, and it is a matter of record that Wil-
mington’s period of greatest progress has been coincident with
the organization and development of the Consolidated Railways
Light and Power Company, and its successor, the Tide Water
Power Company. The first public utility company of this city
was the Wilmington Gas Light Company, organized in 1854,
Edward Kidder, president, and John Mcllhenny, superintend-
ent. Mr. Richard J. Jones was elected treasurer on Friday,
November 13, 1868, and today, after nearly half a century in
the service of this corporation and its successors, he is the active
treasurer of the Tide Water Power Company. During the early
years, gas was made from lightwood, and at one time com-
manded a price of ten dollars per thousand. In 1888 the Wil-
mington Electric Light Company, which had operated a street
lighting system with electric arc lights for a couple of years,
developed such an amount of competitive activity as to bring
about its purchase by the Wilmington Gas Light Company.
Later, the gas company began to furnish incandescent lighting,
hut finally terminated its career in 1902, when it was absorbed
by the Consolidated Railways Light and Power Company.

Among the other public utilities which subsequently formed

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677

part of the Tide Water Power Company, was the Wilmington
Street Railway Company, organized as a horse-car line in 1887,
and purchased in 1892 by Northern capitalists, who changed the
motive power from horses to electricity and built the dummy
line which has since been a large factor in the growth of the city.
This line for handling freight traverses the water front and
affords a cheap and efficient delivery direct to the large jobbers
and wholesalers. The entire property, after a series of finan-
cial troubles, finally failed in 1901, and was disposed of at a
receiver’s sale.

A third company, built in the period of activity which pre-
ceded the Baring Brothers’ [London, Eng.] failure in 1893,
was the Seacoast Railway. This road was designed to connect
Wilmington and Wrightsville Sound. It began operations in
1888, with William Latimer as president. In 1902, through
the efforts of Mr. Hugh MacRae, these three properties were
brought together in an organization called the Consolidated
Railways Light and Power Company, later known as the Tide
Water Power Company, Hugh MacRae, president ; A. B. Skeld-
ing, general manager; M. E. H. Gouverneur, W. B. Cooper,
J. V. Grainger, H. C. McQueen, C. N. Evans, Oscar Pearsall,
Jurgen Haar, J. G. L. Gieschen, Edouard Ahrens, C. E. Tay-
lor, jr., Junius Davis, George R. French, G. Herbert Smith,
and C. W. Worth, directors. Owned locally and managed by
officials who have long been identified with home interests, this
corporation enjoys a public confidence which in itself consti-
tutes a valuable asset. From the wrecks of three unsuccessful
enterprises has been built a property which, in efficiency and
good service, ranks with the best in the country ; and in addition
it enjoys the distinction of being the only public service corpo-
ration in the South whose common stock is entirely held in its
home town.

All the electric railway, electric light, electric power and
gas systems not only in the city of Wilmington but in all New
Hanover County are owned and operated by this company, and
its success is due chiefly to the enterprise and excellent manage-
ment of Hugh MacRae.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

THE RIVER COUNTIES.

The sixteen counties from Onslow to Richmond constitute
what has long been known as the Cape Fear country. From
their first settlement the inhabitants of these counties have been
allied in business and social interests, and their association has
been so close that their history is largely inter-related.

The Upper Cape Fear having been settled principally by
Highland Scotsmen, whose descendants still remain near where
their forefathers found a home, the predominating strain in
that region is Scotch. Lower down, the settlers were chiefly
English and Scotch-Irish.

Since the Revolution there have been no considerable acces-
sions from abroad, and the development has been through in-
ternal growth, which was very slow during those decades when
so many North Carolinians were migrating to the new lands of
the South and West. But on the cessation of that migration
population began to thicken, and industries have been diversi-
fied to the great advantage of the entire region. Indeed, the
development of all the counties of the Cape Fear country has
been most gratifying, and, while every township has reason to
rejoice in its social and material improvement, the uplift of the
region has had a potent influence on the centres of trade. Espe-
cially has Wilmington felt the beneficial effects in the enlarge-
ment of its business and the strengthening of its financial re-
sources, and in its increasing importance as an entrepot of
foreign and domestic commerce. While it is beyond the com-
pass of this volume to describe the historical events of the entire
region, whose history is so full of interest and such a source of
pride to the inhabitants, yet the writer can not omit some slight
mention of the river counties, Cumberland, Bladen, and Bruns-
wick. New Hanover was laid off from Bath in 1729, and five
years later Bladen was laid off, extending indefinitely to the
west and reaching the Virginia line to the north. Bladen was
named for one of the members of the Board of Trade, which
had charge of the colonies, who was personally interested in
North Carolina, as he owned lands in Albemarle and his son-
in-law, Colonel Rice, had made his home on the Cape Fear.
Bladen, so vast in extent, in time became the mother of coun-
ties. Its western and northern territory, clear to the Virginia
line, was, in 1749, erected into a county called Anson. Then,

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679

five years later, Cumberland County was likewise cut off from
Bladen. After tbe Revolution another part was taken off and
called Robeson, in honor of one of Bladen’s heroes. Finally, in
1808, a slice of Bladen, added to a part of Brunswick, became
Columbus.

Cumberland was for many years a very large county, but in
1784 Moore County was cut off from it, and in 1855 Harnett;
and, more recently, Hoke was formed from parts of Cumber-
land and Robeson.

While Bladen and Cumberland were so extensive they played
a most important part in the stirring events that mark the his-
tory of the Cape Fear. During the Revolution the inhabitants
were much divided, many adhering to the government under
which they had lived and to which they felt that their allegiance
was due. But in both counties there were ardent Whigs, and
civil war at times raged, with deplorable consequences. FTo
Whigs were more determined than those of Bladen and Cumber-
land, and battles were fought in each county, some account be-
ing given elsewhere of the Battle of Elizabethtown.

After the Revolution, Fayetteville, being at the head of navi-
gation, became the market for western products and the dis-
tributing point for imported goods, needed even beyond the
mountains. Its importance was so fully recognized that the
Legislature held sessions there, and it was regarded as the natu-
ral point for the State capital. Although improperly deprived
of this advantage, Fayetteville continued to flourish, becoming
in many respects the most important center in the State. There
was to be found one of the most elegant social circles in the
State, and her citizens were foremost in enterprises. In 1818
they started the steamer Henrietta to run on regular schedule
between Wilmington and Fayetteville, and they led in the erec-
tion of mills to make paper and cotton goods.

From the beginning Cumberland could boast of many fami-
lies of superior intelligence, virtue, and refinement, and the pas-
sage of time has only added to its high reputation in this regard.
The men of Cumberland were ever the equals of the best in the
State — the Hays, Rowans, Groves, Eccleses, Mallets, Donald-
sons, Winslows, McAllisters, McQueens, Campbells, Murchi-
sons, Smiths, McMeills, McCormicks, McDearmids, Bethunes,
Cochrans, Dobbins, Henrys, MacRaes, Camerons, Rays, Hales,
Steeles, Shepherds, Stranges, Shaws, McLaughlins, Robinsons,
Tillinghasts, Halls, Worths, Haighs, Huskes, Kyles, Cooks,

680

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Curries, Steelmans, Williamses, Fullers, Hinsdales, Broadfoots,
Starrs, Boses, Underwoods, and many others of equal impor-
tance.

Particular mention is to be made of Hon. James C. Dobbin,
one of the most distinguished men of the Cape Fear, noted for
bis purity, gentleness, and wholly admirable character, as be
was for bis exceptional attainments and rare oratorical powers.

Mr. Dobbin was Secretary of the Havy from 1853 to 1857,
and under bis direction the naval service was brought to a high
state of efficiency, and the navy was greatly improved by the
introduction of more effective armaments and by the addition
of some of the finest war vessels in the world. He ever bad at
heart the improvement of the Cape Fear Biver and the develop-
ment of the resources and commerce of the Cape Fear section.

While the first settlements on the river were made on its
western side and planters located well up into Bladen, it was
not until 1764 that Brunswick County was cut off from Hew
Hanover. Among those early planters were the Moores, Halls,
Howes, Davises, Granges, Watterses,1 Hasells, Ancrums, Camp-
bells, Waddells, Hills, and others who were prosperous and for-
tunate in their surroundings. They constituted a large element
in the social life of the Cape Fear and exerted a potent influence
on political movements.

When the town of Old Brunswick dwindled away, there was
no other town in the county. The county seat was at first
established at Lockwood’s Folly, hut in 1805 the courthouse was
removed to Smithville, where many of the old families, while
retaining their plantations, built commodious and handsome
residences.

In after years, other families likewise have been prominent —
the Smiths, Leonards, Bakers, Laspeyres, Meareses, Browns,
Bussells, Everitts, Langdons, Bellamys, Frinks, Prioleaus, Tay-
lors, Curtises, Galloways, and others who have maintained the
high repute of their predecessors.

Of Dr. Walter Gilman Curtis some particular mention should
he made. He was a native of Hew Hampshire, a graduate of
Dartmouth, and received his medical diploma at Harvard. He

lln Booh E, New Hanover County Records, is a deed from Schenking
Moore to Richard Eagles (1763), in which it is recited that Landgrave
Thomas Smith and his wife Mary conveyed to William Watters 700
acres of land opposite the junction of the two branches of the Cape
Pear River, part of the grant of 48,000 acres made to Landgrave Smith
in 1691.

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681

settled at Smithville in 1847 and soon became the leading prac-
titioner of that vicinity. During the War between the States
he thoroughly sympathized with the South, and for a time acted
as surgeon to the Confederate troops at Smithville. For thirty
years he was the quarantine officer of the port, and he discharged
his duties with rare intelligence and great acceptability. His
official reports are very valuable. He was a man of unusual
attainments, and his spotless character and admirable social
characteristics endeared him to his friends. In 1900 he pub-
lished a volume of Reminiscences of unusual merit, thus adding
to the literature of the Lower Cape Fear and preserving mem-
ories that were fast passing into oblivion. Dr. Curtis won for
himself an enviable place in the esteem of his contemporaries
because of a life well spent, always devoted to the betterment of
surroundings and the elevation of humanity.

The Galloways are a family that should also be particularly
mentioned. Samuel Galloway, along with his brother, Corne-
lius, about the year 1750 emigrated from County Galloway,
Scotland, and made his home on Lockwood’s Folly River. The
descendants of Samuel Galloway have always been men of
ability and strong influence. Years ago several members of
this family located at Smithville, but they have never ceased to
hold their influence in the county, Mr. Rufus Galloway being
one of the leading men of the county in this generation. When
Major Swift was constructing Fort Caswell, Mr. John Wesley
Galloway was employed under him, and a warm attachment
arose from their intercourse. When the war came on, although
over age for active service, Mr. John Galloway organized the
Coast Guard Company and rendered valuable service. He died
of yellow fever during the war. His son, Capt. Swift Galloway,
named for Major Swift, was a splendid soldier and was greatly
esteemed for his talents and high integrity in public life.. He
frequently represented Greene County in the Legislature. Maj.
Andrew Jackson Galloway, of Goldsboro, was another scion of
this family. He had the perfect respect and confidence of an
extensive circle of friends and was an esteemed officer of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Company. All of the Gallo-
ways who were old enough to shoulder a musket served in the
Confederate Army. Particular mention should, however, be
made of John W. Galloway, who became a captain of artillery,
and of Sam Galloway, a younger brother of Capt. Swift Gallo-
way, and of Dr. W. C. Galloway, of Wilmington, who has
attained merited prominence in his profession.

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Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Another scion of this Brunswick family is Hon. Charles Mills
Galloway, whose fine talents and high character led to his being
selected by President Wilson as one of the three Civil Service
Commissioners of the United States. He has added honors to
the name he bears so worthily. He was born in Pender County,
August 15, 1875, and attained prominence as a member of the
South Carolina press. His father, James M. Galloway, was
a member of the mercantile firm of Poyes & Galloway, in Wil-
mington, and clerk of Pender County. All through life he has
been most highly esteemed.

Another descendant of Samuel Galloway — in the fourth gen-
eration— was Bishop Charles Betts Galloway, of Mississippi,
who was more widely known than any other bishop of the Metho-
dist Church of his time. He was one of the greatest orators of
the South, and was a man of unsurpassed power and influence.
Thousands flocked to hear him preach.

A review of prominent persons of Brunswick County who
have served well their day and generation in public and private
life would he incomplete without the mention of one of her fair
daughters whose honored name, Kate Stuart, has been for many
years a synonym for goodness and mercy and loving-kindness in
the hearts and homes of the Cape Pear people. Of rare intel-
lectual gifts and fine executive ability, her accurate knowledge
of historical events and her wise counsel in local affairs have
made her an authority on important local questions, and the
charm of her conversation has added much to the enjoyment of
those who are favored by her hospitality.

Bladen, unlike Cumberland, possessed no central settlement
of overshadowing local importance, its principal inhabitants'
living on their plantations. William Bartram, Joseph Clark,
Robert Howe, Hugh Waddell, William McRee, John Grange,
John Gibbs, Thomas Robeson, William Salter, Thomas Owen,
James Council, General Brown and Major Porterfield, in their
generation, were among the first men in the province.

In after years the McRees, McUeills, McKays, Owens, Gil-
laspies, Browns, Wrights, McMillans, Gilmores, Melvins, Lyons,
McDowells, Purdies, McCulloehs, and Cromarties, proved them-
selves equal to the best, and some attained national reputations.
General McKay and Governor Owen ranked high among the
public men of their day.

While the development of these particular counties has been
of great advantage to Wilmington, so also has the prosperity of

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683

each of the Cape Fear comities been of decided influence, and
with pride we witness their substantial improvement and realize
that in their continued prosperity Wilmington has a better hope
of greater growth and importance in the years to come.

THE GROWTH OF WILMINGTON.

Coincident with the river improvement, there has been a
gratifying increase in the business of the city of Wilmington.
While one of the largest factors in this splendid growth has been
the development of the trucking industry, yet much is to he
attributed to the increased commerce of the port. To the truck-
ing industry may he ascribed a considerable proportion of the
large hank deposits, and the general diffusion of prosperity ; but
the remarkable increase in commerce speaks for itself and gives
an assurance of the future importance of the city.

During the eighty years from 1829 to June, 30, 1909, there
had been spent on the river below Wilmington $4,328,000, and
the total annual commerce at the end of that period was 864,071
tons, of the value of $49,753,175. For the year ending June 30,
1910, there was expended for river improvement $400,000, and
the value of the commerce rose to $52,214,254. At the end of
the year, June 30, 1913, there had been a total expenditure of
$5,368,000, and the tonnage had risen in 1912 to 1,072,205
tons, and the commerce for the year was $60,863,344. The
exports were to eight foreign countries — Germany, France, Eng-
land, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Haiti, and Chile, while there were
imports from ten foreign countries. For the year ending June
30, 1914, the imports from foreign countries were $4,194,745,
as against $3,460,419 in 1913 ; and the exports to foreign coun-
tries were $25,870,851, as against $19,510,926 in 1913, show-
ing an improvement of about one-third in both exports and im-
ports in one year. At the close of the year, June 30, 1915, a
total expenditure of $5,974,868.48 had been made, and the
results seem to justify it. The increased depth of water to
twenty-six feet is having its expected effect on our commerce.

Since the opening of the Panama Canal, it is expected that a
new impetus will he given to the commerce of the port because
of the natural advantages of the situation, Wilmington being
south of Hatter as, only 1,552 miles from Panama, and having
superior railroad facilities, with connections uniting the great

684

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

marts of the interior States. Thus there is reason to hope, with
entire confidence, for even a larger development than that of the
last few years, gratifying as that has been.

In 1914 the total taxable city property, per assessment, was
$14,472,564. In 1915, it was $17,273,425, the increase exceed-
ing 25 per cent. The estimated values show even a greater in-
crease, being from $27,000,000 to $33,000,000. From 1910 to
1916 banking capital increased from $1,922,716 to $2,561,-
636.14; hank deposits rose from $9,292,088 to $11,688,675.57,
and banking resources aggregate $15,557,277.47.

It has only been in recent years that the jobbing business has
had a fair chance for development ; but, with the removal of
obstacles, the enterprise of the Wilmington merchants at once
brought results. In 1910 the jobbing trade had risen by leaps
to $50,000,000, and in 1913 it was estimated at $70,000,000.
With the new conditions and the rapid growth of interior mar-
kets, due to the wonderful prosperity of the country within the
reach of Wilmington, these figures are destined to be speedily
multiplied.

While manufactures are still in their infancy, yet they are
varied in nature, chiefly, however, cotton goods, lumber and
woodwork of many kinds, and fertilizers. In 1913, Wilmington
shipped 263,000 tons of fertilizers. In 1914, 17,100 carloads,
or 282,150 tons, were shipped. This was a record year for the
industry at this port. In 1915 the total shipment of fertilizer
was 11,587 cars, the decrease resulting from adverse conditions
caused by the European War, and is considered a good showing
under the circumstances.

It is interesting to note that just north of the Hilton Bridge,
on the Northeast, three large fertilizer factories are located, as
well as the Camp Manufacturing Sawmill. These have a water
traffic of 165,000 tons, valued at $2,271,849, and this in spite
of the existing disadvantage of a shallow stream. While vessels
drawing twenty-six feet of water can reach the bridge, north of
the bridge the river widens rapidly, so that within the distance
of half a mile the width of fifteen hundred feet is reached, and
then for a mile and a half it narrows to a normal width of six
hundred feet. In this wide stretch the channel is narrow and
only from twelve to fifteen feet deep — entirely insufficient for
the larger vessels bringing in raw material. It is now under
consideration to have the channel widened to one hundred and
fifty feet, with a depth of twenty-two feet, and when this is

Peace Restored

685

accomplished that part of the river will become still more im-
portant.

But as important as are all the foregoing sources of prosper-
ity, the development of the export trade has been the chief factor
in the growth of the city. The increasing foreign commerce has
led to the adoption of plans for a more pretentious custom
house ; and this branch of our trade will doubtless be much bene-
fited if the proposition to increase the depth of water from the
city over the bar to thirty-five feet is carried into effect, while
the coast trade will receive a new impulse when the Coastal
Canal is constructed.

LOOKING FORWARD.

The development of our resources since the War between the
States probably surpasses that of any other country in any era
since the world began.

Our Department of Agriculture at Washington estimated the
production and value of fourteen of our largest farm crops in
1913 at nine billions of dollars. The estimate of our Southern
cotton crop and its by-products was one billion dollars. The
acreage of this vast wealth-producing area is one-seventh the size
of Continental United States ; and yet we are told by President
Brown, an eminent authority, that consumption is overtaking
production with alarming rapidity, and values have been rising
by leaps and bounds ; also, that gradually improved methods of
agriculture will increase the yield per acre, but the supply may
never again catch up with the demand.

Our population, now bordering upon one hundred millions,
must continue to increase, while any large increase in the area
of arable land is a matter of the past. Consumption of food-
stuffs has increased in the past ten years almost three times as
fast as acreage and almost twice as fast as production.

These startling developments accentuate the importance of
conserving and utilizing the great waterways upon which the
country depends for the movement of the larger proportion of
our products. Already the railroads are congested, and water
transportation becomes increasingly important.

The improvement of the Cape Fear River is, therefore, of
momentous significance to our maritime community and to the
State at large. Increased appropriations should he systemati-

686

Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

cally sought through the aid of our representatives in Congress
for the greater deepening and widening of the ship channel to
the sea; for the building of stone jetties upon the shifting sands
of the Western Bar ; for the building of anchorage dolphins for
waiting steamers, which can not swing to their anchors in our
limited harbor basin; for continuous appropriations to sustain
the important works already accomplished, which would de-
teriorate from erosion or other damage should the special appro-
priations fail for a term of Congress.

In the year 1851, the foreign exports of Wilmington were
$431,095; in 1912 they were $28,705,448.

In 1851 our carrying trade employed small sailing vessels,
eighty feet to two hundred feet long, of two hundred to four
hundred tons net register. How it requires steamers three hun-
dred to four hundred feet long, of two thousand to three thou-
sand tons register. In 1851, a vessel cleared from Wilmington
was a large carrier if it could take one thousand hales of cotton.
Recently the steamer Holtie sailed majestically down our river
laden with 20,300 hales of cotton.

Bearing in mind these changes, consider the possibilities of
our Cape F ear commerce fifty years hence !

Hundreds of great merchantmen will lie at our docks, taking
in cargoes for coast trade and foreign commerce ; the aeroplane,
already useful to man, will have as a companion the hydro-
aeroplane, skimming the surface of the waters at fifty miles an
hour, transporting passengers and mails to distant ports — a
veritable handmaiden of commerce. Indeed, it is the opinion
of many experts that the flying-boat will eventually become
large enough for commercial purposes, the horsepower of its
engines running into thousands; and that it will be used for
pleasure, like the steam yacht and motor boat. Elsewhere I
have said that the traffic of our blockade running during the
War between the States would ever he unique in the history of
the world, as the conditions that sustained it can never occur
again. Hereafter it will be impossible to maintain an effective
blockade because of the new instrumentalities of warfare. In
the war in progress in Europe — the greatest war in human his-
tory— the practical value of the aeroplane and of the submarine
have been thoroughly demonstrated; and within a decade the
flying-boat will likewise become available both for commerce and
war. Besides, because of the electric searchlight, the tremen-
dous range and accuracy and destructive power of the modern

Peace Restored

687

projectile, and because of the submarine mines, the torpedo
boats, and other destructive craft which have revolutionized
warfare in the past fifty years, an effective blockade can not be
maintained.

During our war with Great Britain in 1812, an attempt was
made by a diving vessel of the Americans to destroy the Ram-
illies , a ship of seventy-four guns, commanded by Sir Thomas
Hardy, which was blockading the port of Hew London. That
attempt was termed “a most atrocious proceeding,” and Sir
Thomas adopted a very ingenious plan for preventing any fur-
ther attack being made on his ship by this diving vessel. He
ordered one hundred American prisoners of war to be brought
on board his ship, and then notified their Government that in
the event of the Ramillies being torpedoed those persons would
share the fate of himself and his crew. The friends and rela-
tives of the prisoners were so alarmed at the threats of Sir
Thomas that public meetings were held, and petitions presented
to the American Government to induce its Executive to pro-
hibit the use of the diving vessel and its armament in future
naval warfare.

When we recall this incident and compare conditions with
those of today, we realize that there is no limit to the changes
that time will bring. But we know that whatever comes — what-
ever progress is made — the enterprising people of the Cape
Fear will utilize every new instrumentality to make sure their
safety and to secure their prosperity and welfare.

Index

Owing to the length of the Cape Fear roster, the names are not all in-
dexed individually elsewhere, but are covered by the entry Cape Fear
Camp, U. C. V. Captains of Wilmington military companies will be found
grouped on page 273, and Wilmington business and professional men of
1850 on pages 198-200. Both are entered in the index under Wilmington,
and not all names in either group are entered individually.

Sketches of ministers, if any, will, in most cases, he found under
Churches, of teachers under Schools, and of editors under Newspapers, but
ministers, teachers, and editors are all indexed individually, and remarks
on, if of sufficient length or importance, are mentioned under the indi-
vidual entry.

Where the entries contain descriptive matter, if there are page numbers
following the last semicolon and not separated from it by description, the
word “mentioned” should be understood, as these numbers refer to pages
on which the subject is merely mentioned, though often in interesting
connection.

Abbot, Gen. J. C., 644.

Acts pertaining to the Cape Fear.
Allowing Wilmington and Ral-
leigh R. R. to mortgage the road
for rehabilitation (1849), 152;
appropriating for Cape Fear
River lights (1911), 521; appro-
priating for Cape Fear River
lights (1912), 521; appropri-

ating for Frying Pan light
vessel (1908), 519; appropri-
ating for improvement of upper
Cape Fear River (1910), 532;
appropriating for moving ob-
structions at the mouth of
Brunswick River (1902), 13;
creating Board of Audit and
Finance for Wilmington (1877),
549; creating “Literary Fund”
(1825), 658; creating Police and
Fire Commission for Wilming-
ton (1909), 549; creating Street
and Water and Sewerage Com-
missions for Wilmington (1907),
549; dealing with possible fires
(1771), 143; establishing com-
mon schools in North Carolina

Acts, continued.

(1842), 174; “for the better
regulation of the town of Wil-
mington” (1842), 174; giving a
part of Market Street to St.
James’s Church (1751), 606; in-
corporating Wilmington (1739),
46-49, 591; incorporating Wil-
mington and Raleigh R. R.
(1834), 150, 194; providing for
free schools in every county
(1839), 658; seceding from the
Union (1861), 280; securing
eleven city blocks for park and
school purposes (1910), 665;
setting up Smithville (1792), 54.

Adams, Charles L., 249, 250.

Adams, Rev. G. T., 631.

Adkins, Samuel, 141.

Adventure, ship of explorers of 1663,
30, 31.

Agostini,! F. M., 169.

Ahrens, Edouard, 677.

Alabama Claims settlement, 478.

Alabama, Confederate cruiser, 403,
478.

Alamance, Battle of, 88, 118.

VThis should be Agostini in the text.

[689]

690

Index

Albemarle, colonists from, settle in
Cape Fear, 39.

Albemarle, Confederate ram, 282.

Albemarle, Duke of, Lord Proprie-
tor, 3.

Alderman, Dr. E. A., educational
campaign of, 662.

Alexander, Charles M., 617.

Alexander, Rev. M. C., 637.

Allen, Captain, master of a priva-
teer, 65.

Allen, Chief Justice Eleazar, active
in defence against Spaniards,
50; appointed commissioner to
assist in erecting Ft. Johnston,
53; death of, 60; inscription on
tomb of, 60; library of, 81; resi-
dence of, 41, 57, 142.

Allen, James, 141.

Allen, Mrs., 65.

Allen, W. A., 252.

Alsaps, G. B., 213.

Alston, Gov. Joseph, 65.

Alston, Col. William, 65.

Ames, Gen. Adelbert (Federal), 497.

Ancrum, John, active in resisting
Stamp Act, 92; justice County
Court (1776), 186; member Wil-
mington Committee of Safety,
8, 111; promotes Revolutionary
Convention, 110; residence of,
57.

Anderson, Alexander, commissioner
of schools, 174; director W. and
W. R. R., 150-152; magistrate of
police, 177; sketch of, 180; 615.

Anderson, Dr. Edward A., business
interests of, 183; 180.

Anderson, Gen. George B., death of,
72.

Anderson, Capt. James, 193, 213.

Anderson, Gen. Joseph R., com-
mands district of Cape Fear,
281.

Andrea, T., 535.

Andrews, Colonel, 194.

Andrews, James, treasurer Seaboard
system, 674.

Andrews, W. S. G., 170.

Angomar, J., 141.

Anthony Milan’s Launch (poem),
460, 461.

Armfield, Gen. J. F., Adj. Gen. of the
State, 541.

Armstrong, Capt. Edward H., sketch
of, 310; 345.

Armstrong, Thomas J., commis-
sioner of schools, 174.

Arnold, Isaac, 141.

Ashe, Dr. Alexander, military serv-
ice of, 308.

Ashe, Cincinnatus, death of, 65.

Ashe, Capt. John, jr., 120.

Ashe, Gen. John, active in military
defence of the Cape Fear, 113;
addresses the King in behalf of
free schools, 655; colonel of
militia, 119; death of, 65; de-
fends Brunswick, 50; imprison-
ment of, 65; leads in resistance
to Stamp Act, 53, 54, 97, 99;
library of, 81; major general,
120; member New Hanover
County Committee of Safety,
111; popular leader, 76; resi-
dence of, 92; speaker of the
Assembly, 95.

Ashe, John Baptista, residence of,
57; will of, 655.

Ashe, Col. John Baptista, elected
governor, 64 ; Revolutionary
officer, 120.

Ashe, Maj. John Grange, sketch of,
308.

Ashe, Paoli, father of Hon. Thomas
S., 64.

Ashe, Mrs. Rosa H., 613.

Ashe, Capt. Samuel A., address by,
91-100; appointed lieutenant of
artillery, 281; elected to the
Assembly, 336; presents Hon.
George Davis’ portrait to the
Supreme Court, 571; quoted, 14,
24, 25, 564; sketch of, 308, 309;
16, 17, 588.

Ashe, Col. Samuel, residence of, 67,
68; Revolutionary officer, 120;
son of Governor Ashe, 64, 68.

Ashe, Gov. Samuel, elected governor,
64; executor of Harnett, 122;

Index

691

Ashe, Gov. Samuel, continued.

one of the leaders in resisting
Stamp Act, 97 ; member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 110-112; member North
Carolina Sons of Liberty, 106;
residence of, 67; sketch of, 67,
76; 654.

Ashe, Maj. Sam, served in the cam-
paign at the North, 120.

Ashe, Samuel T., editor, 563.

Ashe, Judge Thomas S., 64.

Ashe, Col. William S., death of, 308;
draws charter N. C. R. R., 156;
member Congress, 146; presi-
dent W. and W. R. R., 155;
secures appropriation to close
New Inlet, 146.

Assembly Hall, description of, 186,
209. See Old ’7 6.

Atkinson, Col. John Wilder, sketch
of, 309, 310.

Atkinson, Bishop Thomas, sketch
of, 611; 609.

Bache, Prof. A. D., report of on
soundings of the Cape Fear
River, 201.

Bache, Capt. Hartman, report of on
Cape Fear River improvements
of 1823, 144.

Backus, Rev. Mr., teacher, 656.

Badham, Capt. William, 489.

Baer, George, commands blockade
runner, 486.

Bagg, Horace, 664.

Bagley, Ensign Worth, battery at
Ft. Caswell named for, 547.

Bahnson, Capt. Henry T., 489.

Bailey, Mrs. E. P., president North
Carolina Society Colonial Dames
of America, 580.

Bailey, James, 77.

Bailey, Judge John L., 186.

Bailey, Miss, teacher, 652.

Baker, Daniel B., 187.

Baker, Col. J. A., 253, 368.

Baker, Rev. W. M., 629.

Bald Head Channel, former depth
in, 10.

Bald Head Lighthouse, description
of, 519; 511,520.

Baldwin, O. S., 253.

Baldwin, Simeon, 615.

Baliol, Scotch brig, brought many
settlers to Cape Fear, 39.

Ballard, Irving C., 172.

Ballard, J., 218.

Barbadoes, settlers sent from, 31.

Barbarin, Francis N., 151.

Barker, Lieut. Eben, 531.

Barnes, Rev. A. S., 632.

Barnes, John, 169.

Barnes, John W., 659.

Barnesmore, British merchantman,
introduces new era of steam in
the Cape Fear, 501.

Barnett, Rev. Mr. (1765), 607.

Barringer, Hon. D. M., N. C. com-
missioner to Peace Congress,
268.

Barry, Col. John D., editor, 560;
sketch of, 303; 242.

Baskins, Mrs. Octavia, 638.

Bass, Private, 352.

Bassadier, Philip, accident to, 190,
191; 192, 193.

Bartram, William, 682.

Bartram, William, jr., 77.

Bates, Captain (steamboat), 195.

Battle, Rev. A. J., 635.

Battle, James, director W. and W.
R. R., 150, 152.

Battle, Dr. Kemp P., quoted, 544,
545; supporter of University,
331; 666.

Battle, Judge William H., 186.

Battle, Dr. W. H., 360.

Battles in the Cape Fear.

Brunswick, 50; Elizabethtown,
115, 116-119; Fort Anderson,
302, 304; Fort Fisher, 490, 491,
493, 494; Big Bridge, 118; 304;
Moore’s Creek, 69; near South-
port, 37; New Bern Road, 209;
Northeast River, 324; Sugar
Loaf, 14, 16; Town Creek, 304;
Wilmington, 324.

Baxley, Mrs., Confederate agent, 486.

Baxter, Bernard, 642.

692

Index

Baxter, James, 200.

Beaman, Rev. R. C., 631.

Bear, Isadore, 646.

Bear, Samuel, jr., death of, 602, 603;
gives hospital building, 600;
gives school building, 666; pres-
ident hospital board, 600; 646.

Bear, Solomon, 644, 646.

Bearden, Rev. G. S., 641.

Beatty, Rev. H. E., 641.

Beatty, H. W., 218.

Beaufort, early New Hanover grants
registered at, 40.

Beaufort Harbor, battle at, 49.

Beery, B. W., 535.

Beery, R. H., 212.

Beery, W. L., 535.

Belden, Sergt. Louis S., sketch of,
310.

Bell, Benjamin, 562.

Bell, John, 282.

Bellamy, C. C., 566.

Bellamy, E. H., 566.

Bellamy, J. D., 566.

Bellamy, Dr. J. D., director W. and
W. R. R., 152; sketch of, 182;
219, 499.

Bellamy, J. D., jr., 56&.

Bellamy, Marsden, 566.

Bellamy, W. J., 566.

Bellamy, Dr. W. J. H., 597.

Bellamy, W. M., 566.

Benjamin, Secretary Judah P., 486,
568.

Bennett, Col. Charles A., 547.

Benning, Arthur, 109.

Bernard, Maj. William H., editor,
303, 560, 561.

Bernard, William Stedman, 561.

Bernheim, Rev. Dr. G. D., 640, 641.

Berry, James Ancrum, sketch of,
379.

Berry, Dr. William A., sketch of,
183; 218, 226, 642.

Bettencourt, William C., 212, 219,
224, 226.

Bettencourt, William H., 172.

Big Island, channel at obstructed,
7, 8 ; channel opened on west
side of, 9; Wilmington on east
side of, 7.

Bingham, Rev. William, teacher,
655.

Bishop, Jack, 200.

Black, Miss Christian, 675.

Black River, improvements of, 12,
13; 41.

Black, Samuel, residence of, 69; 219.
Blackwell, Rev. C. S., 637.

Bladen County, prominent families
of, 682.

Blair, Prof. John J., address by, 81-
89; sketch by, 658-666.

Blake, M., 141.

Blake, Admiral Robert (ancestor of
Sarah Dry), 136.

Blaney, Benjamin, 136.

Blaney, Maj. George, sketch of, 379.
Blaney, W. E., 252.

Blockade.

Blockade Runners, after the fall
of Fort Fisher, 470, 476; Ameri-
can consuls give information
about, 417-419; heroic conduct
of women passengers on, 430,
431; men officered by, 421.
Blockade Runners, names of:
Advance, account of, 453-456;
362, 395, 457, 460; Agnes E. Fry,

395, 452, 469; Alice, 395, 460;
Annie, 400; Annie Childs, 460;
Antonica, 396, 417, 453, 460,
461; Armstrong, 423-425, 432;
Atalanta, 395, 419, 420, 423, 426,
452; Banshee, 395, 407, 432, 435,
440, 445, 447, 448, 452, 460, 480;
Banshee No. 2, 444; Bat, 403,
432, 452, 453; Beauregard, 395,

396, 460, 461; Blenheim, 475;

Britannia, 460; Britannic, 396,
460; Caledonia, 460; Calypso,
396, 460; Carolina, 473; Cecile,
458 ; Chameleon, 468-471, 473-476 ;
Charleston, 396, 460; Charlotte,
452,475; Chickamauga, 468, 469;
Chicora, 452, 473, 476; City of
Petersburg, 395, 460; Clinch,

458; Colonel Lamb, 396, 452;
Condor, 396, 445, 452, 489;

Coquette, 396, 452; Cornubia
(Lady Davis), 395, 399, 460;
Dee, 396, 460, 461; Deer, 476;

Index

693

Blockade Runners, continued.

Dolphin, 396, 460; Don, 289, 395,
400; Dream, 396, 432, 452, 473;
Duoro, 396, 460; Eagle, 396, 460;
Edith, 452; Ella, 396, 460, 461,
488, 489; Ella and Annie, 395,
400, 458, 459, 463, 464; Eliza-
beth, 458; Emma, 396; Eugenie, i
395, 460; Falcon, 452; Fanny
(Orion), 395, 400, 460; Fla-

mingo, 452; Flora, 396, 460;
Florence, 476; Florie, 452; Fox,
452,476; Georgiana McCall, 396,
460, 461; Gertrude, 396, 460;
Gladiator, 459; Gordon, 458;
Governor Dudley, 459; Granite
City, 396, 460; Greyhound, 453,
486; Hansa, 395, 400, 460, 469;
Havelock, 396; Hebe, 395, 396,

460, 461; Hero, 396; Hope, 419;
Index, 460, 486; Kate, 283, 286,
287, 395, 458, 465-467; Leopard,
421; Let Her Be, 395, 452; Let
Her Rip, 395, 452; Lilian, cap-
ture of, 494; chase of, 392-393;
395, 401, 403, 404, 450, 452;
Little Hattie, 395, 452; Lynx,

395, 396, 401, 431, 450, 451;

Margaret and Jessie, 395, 402,
417, 460, 462, 463, 465; Maud
Campbell, 476; Mary Celeste,
396,408-410,422; Merrimac, 453,
477; Minna, 460; Modern Greece,

396, 460, 461; Night Hawk, 441,

442, 444, 445, 452; Nina, 458;
North Carolina, 459, 473, 479,
480; North Heath, 395; Old

Dominion, 395, 460, 476; Orion
(Fanny), 399, 400, 460; Owl,

395, 432, 433, 451, 452, 471-473,

475, 476; Pet, 395, 452, 453, 460;
Phantom, 432; Ptarmigan, 452;
R. E. Lee (Giraffe), 395, 388,
412, 460; Rattlesnake, 433;

Ruby, 460; Scotia, 396, 453,460;
Seabrook, 458; Siren, 388, 396,

461, 462; Sirius, 460; Spunky,

396, 461; Stag, 452, 475; Stone-
wall Jackson, 396, 416, 460;

Blockade Runners, continued.

Stormy Petrel, 440; Sumter,
398, 399, 407, 430, 450, 478;
Susan Bierne, 396; Thistle, 396,
460; Tristram Shandy, 446;
Venus, 395, 396, 461; Victory,
396, 460; Virginia, 452, 476;
Vulture, 452; Wave Queen, 460;
Whisper, 432; Wild Dayrell,
439, 440; Wild Rover, 440, 441;
Will o’ the Wisp, 432, 435, 440,
441.

Blockade Runners, pilots of:
Adkins, J. M., 395; Anderson,
J. W., sketch of, 408-410; 396;
Bell, James, 401; Bensel, Joseph,
395; Brinkman, Thomas, 396;
Burriss,2 E. T., sketch of, 407;
395; Burriss,2 G. W., 395; Bur-
riss,2 J. N., 395, 407, 408 ; Burriss,2
J. T., 395; Burriss,2 Thomas,
395, 408, 442; Craig, Charles W.,
395, 401, 465; Craig, J. W., nar-
rative by, 396-406; 395, 453;
Craig, T. W., 395, 396; Daniels,
E. T., 396; Dosher, Julius, 395;
Dosher, Richard, 395, 396; Dyer,
Thomas, 395, 461, 462; Garra-
son, T. B., 395; Grissom, R. S.,
395; Grissom, Thomas, 395,401;
Guthrie, Archibald, 395; Hill,
John, 396; Howard, Henry, 395;
Morse, C. C., 395, 399, 404; New-
ton, T. W., 395, 399; Potter,
J. W., 395; Savage, John, 396,
404; Sellers,. R., 395; Smith,
C. G., 396; Springs, Joseph, 395;
St. George, William, 395, 400;
Thompson, Joseph, 401; Thomp-
son, T. M., 395, 423, 424.
Blockade Runners, quarantine of,
447, 448; relics of, 461; wrecks
of, 460, 461.

Blockade Running:

British naval officers engaged
in, 469; financial estimates of,
387, 388; first blockader, 390;
friendly ports practically block-
aded, 416; improved ships last

xThis should be Eugenie on page 395.

*This should be Burriss in the text.

694

Index

Blockade Running, continued.

year of the war, 452, 453; in-
augurated by Governor Vance,
454; interest of English firms
in, 435, 467; last days in, 468-
476; natural advantages of
Wilmington for, 411; neutral
distance not observed, 416, 417 ;
only foreign flag in Confederate
ports, 467; “paper blockade,”
389; President Davis’ Arabian
horse brought through, 447-449;
protection of the British flag in,
418; recommended by Gen. J. G.
Martin, 454; Southern sailors in,
432, 433; U. S. blockading

squadrons, 390, 416.

Bloodworth, Capt. J. H., 301.

Bloodworth, Thomas, member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Bloodworth, Timothy, justice of
County Court (1766), 186; mem-
ber New Hanover County Com-
mittee of Safety, 111, 112; U. S.
Senator, 207.

Blue Banks, owned by Roger Moore,
41.

Blumenthal, L., 646.

Boatwright, J. Hal, sketch of, 311;
613.

Boca-Chica, Cape Fear troops at
battle of, 51, 52.

Boies, Rev. Artemus, 616, 617.

Boldt, Rev. Dr. K., 641.

Bolles, Capt. C. P., constructor Bat-
tery Bolles, 281; officer U. S.
Coast Survey, 201; sketch of,
311; 121.

Boney, Gabriel J., sketch of, 312.

Bonitz, Julius A., editor, 562.

Bonneau, Capt. F. N., 458, 463, 465.

Bonnet, Steed, execution of, 37 ;
pirate, 36.

Booker, Captain, 380.

Boone, Leighton, 243.

Bordeaux, G. C., 629.

Boston, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Boyd, Belle, Confederate agent, 486.

Boyd, Col. Thomas, 76.

Boys’ Brigade, history of, 588-591;
627.

Bradford, officer of a blockade run-
ner, 421, 422.

Bradley, Amy M., teacher, honor
due, 173, 660; work accom-

plished by, 660, 661; transfer
of school property by, 662.

Bradley, A. O., 252.

Bradley, Lucy, 238.

Bradley, Richard, Revolutionary
officer, 120.

Bradley, Richard, 141, 238.

Bragg, Gen. Braxton, commanding
Cape Fear district, 491 ; en
route to capture New Bern, 492,
493; 308, 324, 385.

Bragg, Mrs. Braxton, 491.

Branch, Gen. L. O’B., 364.

Brickell, Dr. John, historian, quoted,
25, 39.

Bridge, Edmund, 141.

Bridgers, J. R., N. C. commissioner
to Peace Congress, 268.

Brimley, H. H., 63.

Brinkman, Cape Fear lightkeeper,
engaged in life-saving with the
Seminole, 528.

Brinton, Arthur J., quoted, 550.

Britannia, blockader, 481. See also
Runner, 460.

Broadfoot, Col. C. W., quoted, 366.

Brougham, Lord, quoted, 657.

Brown, Lieut. Alexander Davidsop,
sketch of, 312.

Brown, Asa A., editor, 116, 557; 212,
214, 218, 226, 252.

Brown, Captain, 304.

Brown, Caroline, 191.

Brown, Colonel, 281.

Brown, Harriet, 191.

Brown, John, 379.

Brown, John Nutt, 251.

Brown, Peter, 144, 145.

Brown, Maj. R. F., 151, 193.

Brown, R. W., report of on Wil-
mington trade, 506-511; 214,

218.

Brown, Col. Thomas, wins victory
at Elizabethtown, 115, 116, 118.

Index

695

Brown, Thomas W., commissioner
of Wilmington, 174; 213.

Brown, Miss, teacher, 657.

Brownlow, J. P., 252.

Brunhild,! H., 646.

Brunswick, action of Committee of,
108; captured by Spaniards, 50;
decay of, 45; desertion of, 114;
founded by, 582; Governor
Tryon writes from, 104; official
records of destroyed, 142; Rev-
olutionary patriots assemble at,
98-100; Safety Committee of,
8; settlement of, 38-40; trade of,
39; Tryon’s palace at, 105, 106.

Brunswick County, cut off from New
Hanover County, 40; prominent
families of, 680-682.

Brunswick River, description of, 14;
improvements of, 13.

Bryan, Anne, 126.

Bryan, William, 579.

Bryan, Hon. W. J., 583.

Bryant, Alfred, 219.

Bryant, historian, quoted, 30.

Bryce, Hon. James, quoted, 550, 551.

Buffaloe, Dr. W. H., 184.

“Buffaloes,” 404.

Bullock, Capt. James D., Confeder-
ate naval agent, 459, 460.

Bundy, Rev. J. D., 631.

Bunker, Professor, 657.

Bunting, David, 357.

Bunting, Samuel R., military serv-
ice of, 312, 313.

Bunting, Thomas O., sketch of, 312.

Burgoyne, Captain, 452, 469.

Burgwyn, George, 72.

Burgwyn, George (the younger), 72.

Burgwyn, Hill, 187.

Burgwyn, H. W., 252, 611.

Burgwyn, John, 72.

Burgwyn, Capt. John, death of, 72.

Burke, , teacher, 656.

Burns, Capt. Otway, of Snap Dragon
fame, 138.

Burr, Aaron, duel of with Alexander
Hamilton, 136.

Burr, C. E., editor, 558.

Burr, Rev. PI. B., 619.

Burr, Col. J. G., quoted, 138; sketch
by, 453-458; sketch of, 247; 159,
252, 313.

Burr, R., editor, 558.

Burr, Talcott, 615.

Burr, Talcott, jr., editor, 557;
lawyer and journalist, 255; 187,
212, 252.

Burr, W. A., 252.

Burrington, Gov. George, description
of, 63, 64; quoted, 25; residence
of, 57; sketch and administra-
tion of, 81-83; 68.

Burruss, Mrs. E. E., 626.

Butler, Gen. B. F., commanding in
Federal attack on Ft. Fisher,
469, 490, 493.

Butler’s “powder ship,” 493, 574.

Butt, Capt. Archibald B., 541.

Butt, Rev. Frank, 631.

Cairns, Rev. Dr., 608.

Calder, Miss Mary, 572.

Calder, Lieut. Robert E., sketch of,
313; 278, 279.

Calder, Lieut. William, sketch of,
313, 314; 278, 532.

Calhorda, J. P., 189.

Calhoun, Hon. John C., reception of
the remains of, 223-227; visits
Wilmington, 210.

Calvin, John, member New Hanover
County Committee of Safety, 111.
Cameron, George, 615.

Cameron, William, 252.

Campbell, Farquhar, member N. C.

Sons of Liberty, 106.

Campbell, Marsden, residence of, 57.
Campbell, William, member N. C.

Sons of Liberty, 106; 77.
Campbell, W. B., 566.

Canady, J. S., 639.

Cane Creek, Battle of, 115.

Cantwell, Edward, 226, 252.
Cantwell, John, 240.

Cantwell, Col. John L ., narrative by,
276-280; sketch of, 300-302.

iThis Bhould be Brunhild in the text.

696'

Index

Cape Fair Road, explorers anchor
in, 26, 31.

Cape Fear.

Coal mined in, 146, 303-305;
colonial leaders in, 92; coloni-
zation of foreigners in, 676;
description of cape, 5, 6, 519,
544; description of country, 40-
45; first assembly in, 31; first
attempted settlement of, 30-32;
libraries in, 80, 81; lighthouse,
description of, 519, 520; Lodge
No. 2, I. O. O. F., organization
of, 170; merchant marine, 206;
“Minute Men,” action of, 277;
origin of name, 1-6; permanent
settlement in, 38-40.

Cape Fear River.

Aids to navigation of, 516-521;
bar soundings, 201, 202; begin-
ning of Federal fortifications
on, 134-138; channel obstructed,
8; description of, 6-9, 36, 41,
519, 520; early depth of, 9, 10;
explored, 26-30; Federal ex-
penditures on, 12; Federal im-
provements of, 7, 10-12, 146, 147,
532-534; first steamboat on, 138,
139; forgotten aids to the navi-
gation of, 201; names of early
boats on and their masters, 139,
206, 207; outlet of more than 30
counties, 146; plantations on:
Belgrange, Belville, Belvidere,
Buchoi, Clarendon, Dalrymple
Place, Davis Plantation, Gov-
ernor’s Point, Howe’s Point,
Hullfields, Kendal, Lilliput, Old
Town Creek (Rice Plantation),
Orton, Pleasant Oaks, Russell-
borough, Spring Garden (Grove-
ly), Forks, York, 57; river
lights, description of, 519, 520;
tributaries of, 6, 7; Stamp Act
•on, 53, 87, 88, 91-100, 104. See
Stamp Act.

Capers, Bishop William, 630; de-
scription of, 633; narrative by,
633-635.

Capps, Charles R., sketch of, 674.

Capps, Thomas Jefferson, sketch of,
313.

Carden, Capt. G. L., quoted, 522; re-
port by, 530, 531.

Carmichael, Mrs. James, 572.

Carolina coast, general character of,
523-526.

Carr, Gov. Elias, 532.

Carr, James H., 561.

Carr, J. O., address by, 100; 566.

Carr, William T., quoted, 662.

Carroll, Mrs. George W., 103.

Cartagena, N. C. troops engaged in
battle at, 51, 52.

Carter, Captain, fortunate in block-
ade running, 452, 488.

Carteret Precinct, early extent of, 40.

Cashwell, C. C., 566.

Cassiday, James, 176.

Caswell, Gen. Richard, first gov-
ernor of the State, 547; Revo-
lutionary officer, 69, 115, 126.

Catlett, Prof. Washington, 172, 612.

Cazaux, Capt. Anthony D., sketch of,
314; 192.

Chadbourn, James H., 269; quoted,
662; work for schools, 657, 658,
660, 662, 663, 665.

Chadbourn, James H., jr., builds
mission church, 627; 561.

Chaffin, William A., teacher, 654.

Chalmers, A. C., 566.

Chambliss, M. V., 674.

Chameleon, Confederate ship, 468-
476.

Chandler, Samuel, editor, 179.

Chapman, Alexander, 77.

Chapman, Rev. Dr. R. H., 192.

Charles River (Cape Fear), account
of conditions on (1665), 32-34;
5, 6, 31.

Charlestown, end of settlement, 32;
first attempted settlement on
the Cape Fear, 30-32; named,
31; ruins of, 142.

Charleston, S. C., British fleet leave
Wilmington for, 113; in the
blockade, 472-476; N. C. Conti-
nentals surrender at, 120; per-
manent settlement of, 32.

Index

697

Cherokee, U. S. S., 476.

Cherry, Col. William W., 216.

Chestnut, Assistant Quartermaster
Columbus L., 314.

Chickamauga, Confederate cruiser,
406, 468, 469, 478.

Childs, Capt. P. L., Chief of Artil-
lery and Ordnance in the Cape
Fear, 281; 460.

Childs, Gen. Thomas, 145.

Chreitzberg, Dr., quoted, 632.

Churches in the Cape Fear.

Chapman and other revivals,
617, 618; early laws passed in
support of religion, 605; early
Methodism in Wilmington, 632-
635; Federal occupation of, 609,
640; great revival of 1858, 617,
620, 622; history of New Han-
over County churches, 605-647;
Layman’s Recollections, 619-
625; maintaining the early
faiths, 603.

Clarendon County, named, 31, 34.

Clarendon, Earl of, 3, 34.

Clarendon River (Cape Fear), 6, 14.

Clark, Alexander, finds early Scotch
settlers in North Carolina, 124.

Clark, Chief Justice Walter, 301.

Clark, Joseph, 682.

Clark, Col. Thomas, Revolutionary
officer, 120.

Clausen, Rev. F. B., 641.

Clay, Hon. Henry, visits Wilming-
ton, 213, 215, 216.

Clayton, Francis, active in resisting
Stamp Act, 92; member Wil-
mington Committee of Safety,
111; promotes Revolutionary
Convention, 110.

Cleary, Colonel, 210.

Cochran, Robert, 77.

Cochran, Robert, entertains Presi-
dent Monroe, 210; 615.

Cochrane, Joshua, editor, 557.

Coghlan, Captain, commander U. S.
S. Raleigh, 532.

Cole, Rev. John N., 631.

Colleton, Sir John, Vassell’s letter to
concerning failure of Charles-
town settlement, 35, 36.

Collett, Capt. Abraham, commander
of Ft. Johnston, 53, 54.

Collier, Price, quoted, 550.

Collier, Samuel, member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Colonial governors of North Caro-
lina, sketch of, 81-89.

Colonial and Revolutionary heroes
of the Cape Fear, 119-121.

Colonial members of the General
Assembly, 89, 90.

Colston, Gen. R. E., military acad-
emy of, 657.

Colville, John, 623.

Commissioners appointed for de-
fence against Spaniards, 50.

Commissioners of Navigation and
Pilotage, appointment, author-
ity, and work of, 515, 516.

Committee of Safety formed in Wil-
mington, 110.

Comparison of Cape Fear commerce
in 1851 and 1914, 686.

Comstock, Colonel, Federal officer in
the attack on Ft. Fisher, 496.

Confederacy, agents of sent abroad,
486; Daughters of, 275, 276, 571;
only railroad line left in, 468;
values in, 388, 480.

Confederate commissariat cut off,
389.

Confederate heroes, 295-368.

Confederate Lot, deed to, 275.

Confederate Navy, sketch of, 353,
476-483; 486.

Confederate Point, battery on, 281;
description of, 381; 481.

Confederate prisoners under fire on
Morris Island, 301.

Connor, Judge Henry G., 573.

Constitution, political (Whig) prize
ship, 176.

Cook, Mr. and Mrs., early teachers,
651.

698

Index

Coon, Prof. Charles L., quotations
from his history of N. C. schools,
648-654.

Cooper, Sir Anthony Ashley, 4. See
Shaftesbury.

Cooper, W. B., director Tide Water
Power Co., 677.

Coosa, Wat, explorers buy Cape Fear
River from, 29.

Corbett, M. J., president W., B., and
S. R. R., 546; 561.

Corbin, Mrs. Sarah Jane, teacher,
649.

Cornehlson, Capt. C., 280, 303.

Cornelson,i Rev. George H., jr., 626.

Cornwallis, Lord, comes to Wil-
mington, 114; headquarters in
McRary house, 592; surrender
of, 115.

Coastal Canal, 548, 549.

Costin, Miles, 212, 219.

Council, James, 682.

Courtenay, Hon. William A., 538.

Cowan, David S., 186.

Cowan, James H., editor, 564.

Cowan, Capt. John, sketch of, 250,
314-316; 121, 226, 249, 252, 257,
273, 300, 325.

Cowan, Col. Robert H., director W.
and W. R. R., 150, 151; memo-
rial address on Governor Dud-
ley quoted, 229, 300; residence
of, 160; sketch of, 299, 300; 210,
212, 226, 251, 252, 269, 296, 360,
611.

Cowan, Col. Thomas, 141, 250, 615.

Cowan, W. D., 252.

Cox, Gen. Jacob D., diary of quoted,
495-499.

Cox, Quartermaster John W., 360.

Cox, Rev. W. E., 612.

Coxetter, Captain, 417, 419.

Coxetter, Mrs. Easter, teacher, 164,
170.

Craig, Maj. James H., gave no quar-
ter, 209; goes to New Bern, 115;
McRary house headquarters of,
592; marches into Duplin, 115;

Craig, Maj. James H., continued.
takes possession of Wilming-
ton, 114; tyrannical conduct of,
137.

Craig’s “bull-pen,” 65, 114.

Craig, James N., 398.

Craig, James William, narrative by,
396-406; 632.

Craig, Rev. W. M., 638.

Craighill, Col. Wm. P., 10.

Crane Island, scene of treaty with
Indian chief Wat Coosa, 29, 584.

Crane Neck heron colony, 61-63.

Crapon, Capt. G. M., 301.

Cray, William, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Creasy, Rev. Dr. W. S., 631.

Crenshaw, Col. James, 433.

Cronly, Mike, 176, 191.

Crook, Rev. Mr., teacher, 651.

Cross Creek, x; Flora Macdonald
arrives at, 39, 125; in posses-
sion of the Tories, 118; Scotch
settlers of Loyalists, 126; 69.

Crossan, Capt. Thomas N., assists in
purchasing steamer Advance
(Lord Clyde) for the State, 454;
commander of the Advance, 455.

Crowley, Rev. J. S., 626.

Cruizer, H. B. M.’s sloop of war, 45.

Cuban man-of-war incident, 514, 515.

Culbreth, Rev. B. B., 632.

Culbreth, Rev. Marvin, 632.

Cumberland County, prominent fami-
lies of, 679, 680.

Cumming,2 Capt. James D., sketch
of, 316; 193, 312.

Cumming, Sergt. Preston, sketch of,
316.

Cumming, William A., sketch of,
316.

Cunninggim, Rev. W. L., 631.

Curtis, Federal leader in second at-
tack on Ft. Fisher, 389.

Curtis, Dr. M. A. (botanist), quoted,
15, 132.

Curtis, Dr. Walter Gilman, quoted,
202, 282 ; sketch of, 680, 681.

1This should be Cornelson in the text.

2Qn page 193 this should be J. D. Cumming.

Index

699

Cushing, E. A., 252.

Cushing, Lieutenant, attempts to
capture Gen. Hebert, 282; visits
Wilmington, 490.

Cutlar, DuBrutz, 63, 71, 253, 305, 566.
Cutlar, Dr. Frederick J., 71.

Cutlar, Roger, military service of,
316.

Cutlar, Dr. Roger, 71.

••Cut-off,” The, 31.

“Cut-through,” The, 14.

Dally, Rev. Jonathan, 631.

Dalrymple, Capt. John, residence of,
57; 53.

Dannenbaum, G., 646.

Daves, Lieut. Graham, sketch of,
317.

Davis, Capt. Champ N., 316, 317.

Davis, Hon. George, an appreciation
of, 569-572; Confederate States
Attorney-General, 567-569; de-
clines appointment to the N. C.
Supreme Court, 571; delegate
to the Confederate Congress,
270; discusses name Cape Fear,
1-6; Edward Everett’s appreci-
ation of, 220; esteem in which
held by President Davis and
Mrs. Davis, 567-569; monument
to, 572-574; most illustrious son
of the Cape Fear, 571; N. C.
commissioner to Peace Con-
gress, 268; orator, 569-571;
President Davis’ letters to, 567,
568; quoted, 67, 572, 648; report
of on Peace Congress, 269-271;
70, 74, 104, 185, 187, 212, 214,
221, 318, 544.

Davis, George W., 213.

Davis, Horatio, sketch of, 319.

Davis, James, erects first printing
press in colony (1749), 556.

Davis, President Jefferson. Letters
of to Mr. George Davis, 567,
568; 156, 491, 609.

Davis, Mrs. Jefferson, quoted, 568,
569; 449.

Davis, Jehu, 41, 74.

Davis, John, active in resisting
Stamp Act, 92, 97; member
N. C. Sons of Liberty, 106; resi-
dence of, 42, 44, 57.

Davis, Junius, director Tide Water
Power Co., 677; sketch of, 317-
319; 242.

Davis, Thomas, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Davis, Gen. Thomas, 210.

Davis, Thomas F., father of Hon.
George Davis, 185.

Davis, Bishop Thomas F., 74.

Davis, Thomas J., 74.

Davis, Thomas W., 318, 566.

Davis, Rev. Mr., 608.

Davis, Capt. William, member N. C.
Sons of Liberty, 106; Revolu-
tionary officer, 120; 78.

Davis, Rev. W. H., 639.

Davis, Wilson, 135.

Dawson, James, 291, 574.

Dawson, John, 56, 154, 189, 449.

DeBry’s Map, reference to, 4.

Deems, Rev. Dr. Charles F., 631.

Deep River, Loyalists active on,
115; minerals in the valley of,
512; 6.

Deliie, Alyre Raffeneau, French
consul, requested by the Em-
press Josephine to introduce
American plants into France,
132; sketch of, 130-134.

Democratic State campaign of 1876,
330.

Denck, Prof. Joseph, 657.

Denson, Capt. C. B., quoted, 274.

DeRosset, Dr. A. J., commissioner
of VvTlmington, 180; entertains
John C. Calhoun, 210; in active
practice at ninety years of age,
182; quoted, 227; 152, 183, 190,
224, 226, 296, 608, 609, 610, 612,
614, 657.

DeRosset, Mrs. A. J., president Sol-
diers’ Aid Society, 275; sketch
of her work for the Confeder-
acy, 292-294, 414.

DeRosset, A. J., jr., 174, 214, 226.

700

Index

DeRosset, Capt. A. L., military serv-
ice of, 319; 294.

DeRosset, Eddie, 242.

DeRosset, Mrs. Jane D., 572.

DeRosset, Lewis Henry, introduced
bill appropriating to churches
money from destruction of
pirate ships, 59 ; member of
Council, 77.

DeRosset, Louis H., represents Ord-
nance and Quartermaster’s De-
partments in Nassau, 294, 450;
253.

DeRosset, Mrs. Louis H., rescue of,
450, 451.

DeRosset Memorial Fund, 613, 614.

DeRosset, Moses John, active in re-
sisting Stamp Act, 92, 94, 97, 98,
579; officer in French and In-
dian War, 119.

DeRosset, Dr. Moses John, sketch
of, 294, 319.

DeRosset, Thomas C., sketch of, 294;
242.

DeRosset, Col. William Lord, sketch
of, 296, 297; 273, 280, 291, 294,
305, 611.

Devane, Duncan J., 56f>.

Devane, John, 111.

Devane, Thomas, 111.

Devane, Col. William S., 356, 363,
566.

Devil’s Ditch, 70.

Dick, Judge John M., 186.

Dickinson, P. K., promotes railroad
construction, 149; director W.
and W. R. R., 150-152; 188, 214,
219, 224.

Dickson, Rev. Dr. A. F., 617.

Dickson, James, 141, 615, 651.

Dickson, Dr. James H., heroism of
in yellow fever epidemic, 284-
286; 183, 214, 218, 251, 269, 616.

Dickson, Joseph, member of “Court
Martial” (1777), 103.

Dickson, Rufus DeVane, 566.

Diligence, brings stamps to the Cape
Fear, 94, 99; 96, 104; H. B. M.’s
sloop of war, 45.

Disastrous Fires. Blockade runners,
Confederate Government, etc.,
lose by, 534-537.

Disastrous year of 1819, 139-142.

Divine, Capt. John F., 184, 239.

Dix, John W. K., 286.

Dobbin, Hon. James C., sketch of,
680.

Dobbs, merchant ship seized by the
king’s authorities, 94.

Dobbs, Gov. Arthur, administration
of, 85-87; residence of, 57; 104,
105.

Dobbs, Edward Bryce, 104.

Dorsey, Lawrence D., 251.

Dorsey, R. J., 252.

Dortch, Dr. Louis, 331.

Dortch, Sallie, 331.

Dortch, W. T., Confederate States
Senator, 271.

Dragon, Federal prison ship, 299.

Drane, Henry M., 172.

Drane, Rev. R. B., heroism of in
yellow fever epidemic, 286, 609;
606-612, 652.

Draughon, James Hughes, 615.

Dry Pond, 162, 169, 232.

Dry, Col. William, completes Ft.
Johnston, 53; takes oath never
to issue stamped paper, 99; de-
fends Brunswick against Span-
ish, 50; 96, 98, 99, 135.

DuBois, John, justice County Court
(1777), 186; 137.

DuBois, Magdalen, 137.

DuBois, Walter, 78, 92.

Dudley, Bishop, member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Dudley, Christopher A., 169.

Dudley, Capt. Edward B., jr., sketch
of, 320.

Dudley, Gov. Edward B., A. C. L.
R. R. follows policy outlined by,
153; elected governor of the
State, 150; entertains Daniel
Webster, 217-219; pledges pri-
vate fortune to secure W. and
W. R. R., 150, 151, 153, 155;

Index

701

Dudley, Gov. Edward B., continued.
promoter W. and W. R. R., 148;
sketch of, 229-231;, welcomes
Henry Clay, 215; 141.

Dudley, E. P., 590.

Dudley, G. L., sketch of, 320; 252.

Dunbibin, Jonathan, 187.

Duncan, Alexander, 78.

Dupre, D., 212.

Dushan, Charles, 591.

Dyer, Michael, 46, 47.

Dyer, Thomas, murder of, 461.

Eagles’ Island, 14.

Eagles, Richard, residence of, 57.

Earp, Capt. H., under double cross
fire on Morris Island, 301.

Earthquake of 1886, account of, 538-
540.

“Ecce Homo,” painting from de-
stroyed Spanish ship, 50.

Edenton, 81.

Eells, Rev. W. W., teacher, 170; 617,
652.

Elder, Rev. J. M. W., 626.

Ellenwood, H. S., death of, 177;
sketch of, 557.

Ellerbrook, William, death of, 536.

Elliott, George B., 566.

Elliott, Warren B., president James
Walker Hospital Board, 598,
599.

Ellis, Capt. Charles D., commis-
sioner of Wilmington, 174;
sketch of, 320; 218, 226.

Ellis, Gov. John W., orders Ft.
Caswell restored to U. S. au-
thorities, 278; orders the taking
of Ft. Caswell and Ft. Johnston,
279; 356.

Ellis, N. C. gunboat, 353.

Ellis, Z., sketch of, 320.

Emmons, Dr. Ebenezer, advises
mining of coal in Chatham
County, 203, 204.

Empie, Adam, jr., 212, 252, 566, 655,
656.

Empie, Rev. Adam, president Wil-
liam and Mary College in Vir-

Empie, Rev. Adam, continued.

ginia (1827), 608; rector St.
James’s, 608, 633; sketch of, 655.

Empie, B. G., 566.

Empie, S. M., 566.

Engelhard, Maj. Joseph A., editor,
558; 275.

Ennet, Capt. W. T., 299.

Equator, Confederate gunboat, 480-
482.

Eustice, Dr. John, active in resist-
ing Stamp Act, 92; 76.

Evans, C. N., 677.

Everett, Dr. S. B., 652.

Explorers (1660), visit of, 29, 30.

Explorers (1663), report of, 26-30.

Fabian, Peter, sent from Barbadoes
to explore Cape Fear, 31; 30, 62.

Fairley, Lieut. J. H., sketch of, 484.

Faison, Capt. Frank, 355.

Fanning, Col. David, captures Gov-
ernor Burke, fights at Cane
Creek, takes Hillsboro, 115.

Fanning, P. W., chairman Board of
Commissioners of Navigation
and Pilotage, 397; editor, 177,
557; 252, 659.

Farrington, Rev. F. H., 639.

Farris, William. Appointed to as-
sist in erecting Ft. Johnston, 53.

Fayetteville, mail stage line pass-
ing through, 149, 207; sketch of,
205-207, 679; steamboat line to,
138, 139; 508, 512.

Fennell, Hardy L., 172.

Fennell, Capt. Owen, sketch of, 321;
171, 172, 219.

Fergus, Dr. James, surgeon in the
Revolution, 120.

Fergus, Dr. John, description of, 76.

Fergus, Lieut. John, commandant of
Ft. Johnston, 134, 138.

Fergus, Washington C., 172.

Fergus, William, 239.

Fillmore, President Millard. Visits
Wilmington, 208, 212, 213.

Fires from 1771 to 1843 and in 1864,
account of and losers in, 139-

702

Index

Fires, continued.

144, 534-537; valuable docu-

ments destroyed by, 142.

Fisher, Colonel Charles F., 156.

Flagler, Mrs. Henry M., erects
armory for Boys’ Brigade, 590;
331.

Flanner, Lieut. Henry G., sketch of,
320, 321.

Flanner, Joseph H., 172, 253. See
Wilkings-Flanner duel.

Flats, 506, 511.

Fleming, Cecil, 242.

Flora Macdonald, Confederate trans-
port on the Cape Fear, 403.

Florida, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Floyd, Capt. F. F., under double
cross fire on Morris Island, 300.

Forbes, William, appointed commis-
sioner to take measures for de-
fence against Spaniards, 50;
appointed commissioner to as-
sist in constructing Ft. John-
ston, 53.

Ford, S. R., 252, 253.

Forrest, Andrew J., officer on a
blockade runner, £94.

Forster, John, appointed to assist in
obstructing channel of the Cape
Fear River, 8.

Forts in the Cape Fear Region.

Names and account of: Ander-
son, attack on, 302, 303; evacu-
ated, 497; Federal occupation
of, 499; ruins of described, 574;
58, 484, 500; Buchanan, 58;

Campbell, evacuated and maga-
zines blown up by Confederates,
380; Caswell, armament of, 547;
batteries of named for, 647, 648 ;
captured by “Minute Men,” 276-
278, 295; construction of, 55,
379; evacuated and magazines
blown up, 380, 471, 472; restored
to U. S. authorities, 278, 279;
situation of, 547 ; taken by Gov-
ernor’s order, 279, 280; use of
in War between the States, 379;
388, 439, 440, 455, 476, 499, 540,
546, 681; Fisher, attacks upon,

Forts in Cape Fear, continued.

383-386, 469, 490-494; Battery
Bolles, the first defensive work
of, 280; defends New Inlet, 388,
433, 434; description of, 381-
383; fall of, 380, 385, 476; gar-
rison of, 385; gateway between
the Confederate States and the
world, 388; Malakoff of the
South, 381; occupation of by
Federal forces, 433, 434, 470,
471; ruins of, 18; situation of,
381; Whitworth guns of, 311;
55, 58, 274, 359, 361, 362, 363,
451,476,480, 481, 482; Johnston,
abandoned, 55; British troops
at the site of, 54; ceded to
United States, 55; description
of, 53; erection of, 50, 52; Fed-
eral occupation of anticipated,
295; Federal work on, 134, 137;
garrison of, 50, 96; Governor
Martin flees to, 112; Governor
Tryon orders protection of, 98,
105; site of marked, 581; town
near incorporated and aban-
doned, 54; 60, 281.

Fort Jackson, Federal cruiser, 401.

Fort Lafayette, Federal prison, 422,
462, 465.

Fort Sumter, firing on, 279; 295.

Fosgate, Frederick, 121.

Foster, F. W., Federal sanitary
agent in Wilmington (1865), 357.

Foster, Rev. Dr. J. H., 637, 638.

Fowler, W. G., 162.

Foy, Dr., 184.

Frankland, Sir Thomas, grandson of
Oliver Cromwell, owner of Lil-
liput, 60.

Fredericksburg, historic associations
of, 406.

Fremont, Col. S. L., in command of
the Cape Fear, 281; 611.

French, George R„ director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

French, Judge Robert, 566.

French, Gen. Samuel G., in com-
mand of Confederate forces in
the vicinity of Wilmington, 347.

Index

703

French, William A., 662.

Freshwater, Thomas, 659.

Frieze, Rev. Jacob, editor, 177.

Frolic (formerly Advance), Federal
gunboat sent to intercept Cuban
man-of-war, 457, 515; speed of,
457.

Fry, Capt. Joseph, commander block-
ade runner, 452.

Frying Pan Shoals, description of,
5, 517, 518, 523; hazard of, 5,
507; 522.

Fuller, Bartholomew, editor, 559.

Fulton, David, attorney, 187; editor,
178; 218, 558.

Fulton, Federal armed transport,
462,463; 422.

Fulton, Hamilton, work of on Cape
Fear River improvement, 144,
145.

Fulton, James, editor, 178; pub-
lished only Wilmington news-
paper in 1862, 284, 285; sketch
of, 558; 226.

Gafford, John, 169.

Gafford, W. P., 566.

Gaither, Col. B. F., 216.

Gale, Christopher, 2.

Galloway, Maj. Andrew Jackson,
officer W. and W. R. R. Com-
pany, 681.

Galloway, Bishop Charles Betts,
sketch of, 682.

Galloway, Hon. Charles Mills, sketch
of, 682.

Galloway, Cornelius, emigrates from
Scotland, 581.

Galloway, Daniel W., 242.

Galloway, James M., clerk of Pender
County, 682.

Galloway, Capt. John W., organized
Coast Guard Company, 681.

Galloway, Rufus, 681.

Galloway, Sam, 681.

Galloway, Samuel, emigrates from
Scotland, 681.

Galloway, Capt. Swift, 681.

Galloway, Dr. W. C., 681.

Gardner, Julius D., 193.

Gardner, J. D., jr., 231.

Gautier, Capt. T. N., quoted, 9.

Geer, Gilbert, 141.

General Whiting, torpedo boat in
the Cape Fear River, 500.

George, Edward Payson, leaves sum
for Marion Sprunt memorial
annex to hospital, 600-602.

Georgia, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Gettysburg, blockader, formerly
blockade runner Margaret and
Jessie, 402; disables the Lilian,
494.

Gibble, Rev. J. B., 613.

Gibbons, Cardinal, work of in Wil-
mington, 642, 643; 583.

Gibbs, George, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Gibbs, John, member N. C. Sons of
Liberty, 106; 682.

Gibbs, Robert, 620.

Gibson, Walter, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Gieschen, J. G. L., German consul,
director in Tide Water Power
Company, 677.

Gilchrist, William, 598.

Giles, Clayton, military service of,
321; 208.

Giles, Norwood, sketch of, 321, 322.

Gillett, B. C., 141.

Girardeau, Rev. Dr. J. L., 622.

Gladiator, early boat on the Charles-
ton line, 145, 169, 195.

Glenn, Gov. R. B., 590.

Glennan, Sergeant, quoted, 274, 275.

Godden, Colonel, killed in Battle of
Elizabethtown, 117.

Godfrey, Lieut. Thomas, sketch of,
77-80; subscribers to poems of,
77.

Godwin, H. E., officer of W., B., and
S. R. R., 546.

Godwin, Hon. H. L., aids in secur-
ing appropriation for Wilming-
ton Custom House, 596; 541.

Goldsborough, Matthew T., assists
in building W. and W. R. R.,
151.

Goodman, Louis, 566.

704

Index

Gore, Captain, 303.

Gorgas, Gen. Josiah, Confederate
chief of ordnance, 309, 485.

Governor Buckingham, Federal crui-
ser, attacks blockade runner
Lynx, 450, 451.

Governor’s Cove, description of, 105;
H. B. M.’s isloops of war an-
chored in, 45.

Governor Dudley, steamboat of the
Charleston line converted into
a blockade runner, 459.

Gouverneur, M. F. H., director in
Tide Water Power Company,
677; 573.

Gracie, Miss Mary (Mrs. Stephen
Jewett), teacher, 238.

Grady, R. G., 566.

Graham, Edward Kidder, president
University of North Carolina,
quoted, 667, 668.

Graham, Professor, 657.

Graham, Sarah, 331.

Graham, Gov. William A., contest of
with Joseph Alston Hill over
railroad policy, 148.

Grainger, Col. Caleb, y officer in the
French and Indian War and in
the Revolution, 119, 120; 78.

Grainger, I. B., 356.

Grainger, Joshua, helps to lay off
Newton, 45. See Wilmington.

Grainger, J. V., director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

Grant, L. Clayton, 566.

Grant, Gen. U. S., letters of to Gen-
eral Lee, 352, 353; quoted, 414;
493, 496.

Green, Jack, 169.

Green, James G., 225, 226, 252.

Green, James S., death of, 286; fine
courtesies of, 155, 266; resi-
dence of, 162; secretary and
treasurer W. and W. R. R., 150,
155, 286; 168, 212, 214, 219, 249,
659.

Green, Robert C., 172.

Green, William Henry, sketch of,
322.

Green, William M., bishop of Mis-
sissippi, 250; 249.

Greenhow, Mrs. Rose O., grave of
marked by Memorial Associa- I
tion, 275; sketch of, 489, 490.

Green’s River explored, 27-29; j
named, 31.

Greenville, Richard, the great navi-
gator, 3, 4.

Greenwald, i N., 646.

Greer, Lee, 566.

Grey, Private, 352.

Grier, Mrs. Matthew B., 621.

Grier, Rev. Matthew B., sketch of,
620, 621; 617.

Griffin, Dr. John Lightfoot, surgeon
at Fort Johnston, 134.

Griffith, Captain (fire company), 1
241.

Grinnell, Mrs., Confederate agent,
sketch of, 486.

Griswold, Maj. Walter, directs main
construction in Cape Fear River
improvement (1873), 10.

Groves, Rev. William H., 617.

Gwyn, Walter, Chief engineer in
construction of W. and W. R. R.,
151, 195.

Haar, Jurgen, director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

Hagood, Gen. Johnson, 495, 500.

Haid, Rt. Rev. Leo, 643.

Hale, Maj. Edward Joseph, sketch
of, 322, 323.

Hale, Rev. Dr. Fred D., 637, 638.

Hall, Avon E., 341.

Hall, Sergt. B. Frank, sketch of,
323, 324, 628.

Hall, Col. Edward D., sketch of, 305,
306; 252.

Hall, Hon. Eli W., opposes Know-
Nothing party, 231; sketch of,
255; 176, 191, 212, 225, 226, 253,

566.

Hall, E. P., 180, 650.

Hall, Jessie D., missionary, 617.

Hall, Rev. J. H., 631.

Hall, Rev. J. K., 615.

1This should be Greenwald in the text.

Index

705

Hall, John, 214.

Hall, Mrs. Margaret Tannahill,
chuch erected in memory of,
627, 628.

Hall, William H., 172.

Hallet, Capt. B., 535.

Hailing, Rev. Dr., first principal
Wilmington (Innes) Academy,
608, 655.

Halpin, Captain, commands block-
ade runner, 453.

Halsey, B. W., teacher, 649.

Halsey, William H., 249, 250.

Halsey, William K., 566.

Halton, Robert, appointed commis-
sioner to assist in building Ft.
Johnston, 53.

Hamilton, Alexander, death of gen-
eral calamity, 136.

Hamilton, Dr. J. G. DeRoulhac, ad-
dress by, 52; quoted, 318.

Hancock, Captain, U. S. Coast Ar-
tillery, 541.

Harahan, William J., president Sea-
board Air Line Railway, sketch
of, 674.

Hardee, Gen. William J., 362.

Hardy, Sir Thomas, action of with
reference to U. S. diving vessel
in the War of 1812, 687.

Harnett, Cornelius, chairman Cape
Fear Committee of the Sons of
Liberty, 106, 107, 108; chair-
man New Hanover County Com-
mittee of Safety, 111; consults
Committee of Safety about im-
porting a negro, 112; grave of,
644; leader in resistance to
Stamp Act, 53, 92, 97-99, 104;
president of the Provincial
Council, 76; sketch of, 75, 76;
the Samuel Adams of North
Carolina, 644; will of, 121, 122;
78, 112.

Harper, Capt. John W., controls
river trade, 546; 561.

Harrell, Rev. J. B., 639.

Harris, Cicero W., editor, 559.

Harris, Mrs. Cicero W., editor, 559,
560.

Harris, Nehemiah, 141.

Harris, P., 141.

Harris, Col. Wade H., editor, 559,
560.

Harris, William, 141, 615.

Harrison, President William Henry,
candidacy of, 175, 176, 189.

Harriss, George, 191, 252.

Harriss, Nehemiah, 191.

Harriss, Dr. W. J., commissioner of
Wilmington, 180; death of, 182.

Harriss, Dr. William White, sketch
of, 324; 252, 253.

Hart, Annie, teacher, 657.

Hart, Levi A., 170.

Hartman, Jacob, 615.

Hartman, Lieutenant, 352.

Hartshorn, , teacher, 656.

Harvey, Selina M., 582.

Hasell, Chief Justice James, resi-
dence of, 57; 74.

Hasell, Susannah, 74.

Hasell, William Soranzo, editor,
177, 181; sketch of, 181; 74.

Haskell, Maj. J. C., 322.

“Haul-over,” opening of by storm, 8.
See New Inlet.

Hawes, Capt. J. R., 303.

Hawfields, Orange County residence
of Edmund Strudwick, 64.

Hayne, Paul H., editor and poet,
564.

Haynes, Capt. Roger, sketch of, 71,
72.

Haywood, Col. E. G„ 339.

Head, J. F., 566.

Hebert, Gen. Louis, commands lower
defences of the Cape Fear, 282,
302.

Hedrick, Col. John J., in command
at Confederate Point, 281;
sketch of, 302, 303; surrenders
Ft. Caswell in obedience to the
Governor’s order, 278, 279; takes
possession of Ft. Caswell and
Ft. Johnston, 277, 295; 176,252,
333.

Heide, A. S., Danish vice consul,
190.

706

Index

Hemenway, Mrs. Mary, educational
work of for Wilmington, 173, 661.

Henrietta, early Cape Fear River
boat, 679.

Herne, Captain, 44.

Heron, Benjamin, 78.

Herring, Rev. R. H., 639.

Hewitt, Admiral, British naval offi-
cer, blockade runner, 452.

Hewitt, John T., 162.

Hewlet’s Creek, signs of Indian oc-
cupancy on, 18.

Hiden,i Rev. J. C., 636.

Higgins, Michael, helps to lay off
Newton, 45, 248. See Wilmington.

Highland Point, named by explor-
ers, 28.

Hill, Arthur J., residence of, 75; 172.

Hill, Gen. D. H., 333, 363, 368.

Hill, Frederick C., editor, 178, 557;
214.

Hill, Dr. Frederick J., “Father of
public schools,” 658; Orton
home of, 57; 71.

Hill, Maj. Gabriel H., sketch of, 324.

Hill, Maj. James H., 121, 484.

Hill, Capt. John, residence of, 71;
Revolutionary officer, 121, 579;
sketch of, 74.

Hill, John, jr., 71.

Hill, Dr. John “Bank,” president
Bank of Cape Fear, 238; sketch
of, 251; 176.

Hill, Dr. John, of Kendal, 324.

Hill, Dr. John Hampden, sketch of,
63.

Hill, Lieut. John Hampden, military
service of, 324.

Hill, John L., 172.

Hill, Joseph Alston, contest of with
Governor Graham over railroad
policy, 148; eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; sketch of,
66, 251.

Hill, Mrs. Joseph A., entertains
Henry Clay, 214.

Hill, Dr. Nathaniel, sketch of, 72,
73; 213, 214.

Hill, Dr. Thomas, 324.

xThis should be Hiden in the text.

Hill, William, eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; welcomes
President Polk, 211, 212; 187, 252.

Hill, Capt. William, Revolutionary
officer, 120; sketch of, 77; 122,
579.

Hill, Rev. William E., 617.

Hill, Hon. William H., residence of,
75; 66.

Hilton, Capt. William, report of on
exploration, 2, 26-30; 62.

Hilton River, explorers’ report of,
28, 29; 584.

Hinsdale, Col. John W., 325.

Historical monographs, publication
of, v.

Historic spots in North Carolina of
the colonial period yet un-
marked, 583-587.

Hoard, Seth, 141.

Hobart, Captain, distinguished Brit-
ish naval officer commanding
blockade runner Don, 400;
quoted, 289, 290; 452.

Hodgson, John, Speaker of the As-
sembly (1739), 49.

Hodgson, Valentine, 170.

Hoge, Rev. Dr. Moses D., exciting
trip of in blockade runner Ad-
vance, 455.

Hoge, Rev. Peyton H., 617, 626.

Hogg, Robert, member Wilmington
Committee of Safety, 111; pro-
motes Revolutionary Convep-
tion, 110.

“Hogg’s Folly,” 160, 193. See Para-
dise.

Hogue, Rev. Richard W., poem by,
61; 610.

Hoke, Gen. Robert F., commands
defence of Wilmington, 495;
365.

Hollingsworth, John, member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Hollinshead, William, 615.

Holmes, Gabriel, 141.

Holmes, Gabriel, jr., 615.

Holmes, Gov. Gabriel, death of, 229.

Holmes, Mrs. Gabriel, 572.

Index

707

Holmes, H. L., 228.

Holmes, James D., 356.

Holmes, John L., eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 187, 566; 212,
226, 232, 611.

Holmes, Dr. Joseph A., quoted, 203;
report of on Indian mounds, 19-
24; 16.

Holmes, Rev. K. D., 631.

Holmes, Lucian, eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 187, 566.

Holmes, Owen, death of, 187; emi-
nent member Wilmington Bar,
566.

Holt, Obadiah, 78.

i Holtie (modern steamer), compari-
son of with vessels in the carry-
ing trade of an earlier time,
501, 686.

I Hood, Gen. John Bell, 365.

Hooper, Anne, witness to Harnett’s
will, 122.

Hooper, Archibald Maclaine, editor,
177; sketch of, 258, 556; 615.

Hooper, Johnson, author, 556, 557;
sketch of, 258, 259.

I Hooper, William, eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 565; member
Wilmington Committee of
Safety, 110, 111; procures call
of first Revolutionary Conven-
tion, 110; signer of the Decla-
ration of Independence, 556;
sketch of, 76.

?. Horne, Robert, publishes descrip-
tion and map of North Carolina,
2, 5.

| “Horse Pond,” description of, 160,
161, 164.

Horsey, Captain, 421, 422.

Hort, Dr. William P., promoter W.
and W. R. R., 147, 148.

Hoskins, Mrs., 141.

Hoskins, Rev. B. L., promoter Odd
Fellows’ School, 171.

Houston, Samuel, 103.

Houston, Capt. William J., 103.

Houston, Dr. William, appointed
stamp master, 91 ; patriotic serv-
ice of later, 103; resignation of,
93; sketch of, 100-103.

Howard, Emily, 191.

Howe, Gen. Robert, distinguished
in French and Indian War and
in the Revolution, 50, 120; in
command of Fort Johnston, 54;
leader in resistance to Stamp
Act, 92, 98 ; promotes Revolu-
tionary Convention, 110; resi-
dence of, 57, 60; sketch of, 76.

Howell, Rev. Andrew J., 617, 627,
628.

Howey, Thomas H., 170.

Howquah, hlockader, attacks block-
ade runner Lynx, 450, 451; 481.

Huggins, Lieut. George W., sketch
of, 325.

Huggins, James B., military service
of, 325.

Hughes, , assists in purchase

for the State of the blockade
runner Advance, 454; officer of
the Advance, 455.

Hunt, Rev. Thomas P., 617.

Huntsville, Federal ship, chase by,
429.

Hyrne, Colonel, residence of, 71.

Immortality (poem), 264, 265.

Indians.

Account of tribes of:

Algonquin, 17; Burghaw, 25;
Catawbas, 25; Congarees, 25;
Iroquois, 17; Keyawees, 25; Old
Cheraws, 25; Sapona, 14, 25;
Saxapahaw, 16, 25; Siouan, 16,
17; Toteras, 25; Waccamaws,
43; Warrennuncock, 16; Wax-
haw, 25; Woccon, 16; Yamas-
sees, 24, 25; black drink of, 15;
disappearance of, 25; last set-
tlement of on the peninsula, 18 ;
massacre in Albemarle, 38;
mounds of, 19-24; occupancy of,
16-18; pirates supposed to have
amalgamated with, 37; pottery
of, 17; trade with, 30; Tusca-
rora War, 38.

Innes, Capt. James, commands Cape
Fear troops at Cartagena, 49, 52,
119; commands Virginia forces

708

Index

Innes, Capt. James, continued.

in French and Indian War, 52,
119, 248; leaves money for a
free school, 248.

Innes Academy, account of, 248, 594.

Innett, Rev. I., 635.

“Intelligent Contrabands,” account
of, 392.

Iredell, James, Life and Correspond-
ence of quoted, 76, 77.

Iredell, James (of Raleigh), 224.

Iverson, Col. Alfred, 363.

Ives, Rt. Rev. Dr., 608.

Ivy, Captain (steamboat), 195.

Jackson, J. W., 560, 562.

Jackson, Stonewall, anniversary of
death of observed as Memorial
Day, 313; wounded, 275.

Jacobi, J. N., 646.

Jacobi, M. W., 646.

Jacobi, Nathaniel, 646.

Jacobs, Bela H., 252.

Jacobs, Benjamin, 615.

Jacob’s Run, 161, 593.

James, Hinton, engineer in charge
of early Cape frear River im-
provement, 145.

James, Lieut. John Christopher,
sketch of, 325.

James, Mrs. John C., 572.

James, John S., 252.

James, Joshua T., editor, 178, 559,
563; publishes account of yellow
fever epidemics (1821, 1862),
287; sketch of, 563; 252.

James, Adj. Theodore C., sketch of,
326; 345.

James Walker Memorial Hospital,
sketch of, 597-603.

Jarrett, Rev. Nathan, 629.

Jastrow, Dr. Marcus, 644, 645.

Jefferson, Joseph, narrative of ex-
periences in Wilmington by,
262-264; 561.

Jenkins, Michael, promoter A. C. L.
Railroad, 668.

Jenkins, Rev. J. T., 638.

Jenkins, Nelson, 638.

Jenkins, Mrs. Nelson, 638.

Jennings, George, 141.

Jennings, Thomas, 141.

Jenny Lind incident, 265-267.

Jewett, Bradley, 241.

Jewett, Ella (Mrs. Crosley), 244.

Jewett, George W., account of school
taught by, 238-244, 656.

Jewett, Mrs. George W., teacher, 238.

Jewett, Stephen, teacher, sketch of,
238; 253.

Jewett, Stephen, jr., sketch of, 326;
242, 243.

Jewett, William, 242.

Jocelyn, Samuel R., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566.

Johnson, Robert, 78.

Johnston, Gov. Gabriel, administra-
tion of, 83-85; appointed com-
missioner to assist in erecting
Ft. Johnston, 53; espouses cause
of Newton against Brunswick,
45-49; Ft. Johnston named for,
543; reports on raising troops
against the Spaniards, 51; 76.

Johnston, Capt. George B., 323.

Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., 295, 309,
321, 325.

Jones, Capt. Booker, 380.

Jones, David, 185.

Jones, Frederick, member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111 ; member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106; promotes Revo-
lutionary Convention, 110; resi-
dence of, 71.

Jones, Col. John D., 210, 218, 249.

Jones, Capt. J. Pembroke, comman-
der C. S. ram Raleigh, 201, 480,
482; sketch of, 326, 327; 282.

Jones, Col. Maurice, active in re-
sistance to Stamp Act, 92; resi-
dence of, 72, 92.

Jones, Murphy V., collector of cus-
toms, 190.

Jones, Richard J., treasurer Tide
Water Power Company, 676.

Jones, Attorney General Robert, de-
cision of on detained merchant-
men, 94, 95.

Index

709

Jones, Col. Thomas M., military-
service of, 282.

Jones, W. F., 566.

Jones, William, justice County
Court (1777), 186; member

New Hanover County Commit-
tee of Safety, 111.

Jordan, Col. J. V., 360.

Jordan, Rev. W. H., 636.

Joy, , teacher, 656.

Joyner, Andrew, director W. and W.
R. R., 150.

Joyner, Dr. J. Y., quoted, 659.

Judd, Dr., 608.

Jury, William Edward, 615.

Juske, John, witness to Harnett’s
will, 122.

Kansas, blockader, 481.

Katz, M. M., 646.

Kearsage, U. S. man-of-war, 403.

Kegley, Rev. C. R., 641.

Keith, B. F., secures new custom
house, 595, 596.

Keith, Edwin A., 216, 252, 459.

Kellogg, Joseph, 141.

Kellogg, William, 240.

Kellum, Woodus, 566.

Kelly, Hanson, magistrate of police,
210; 141.

Kelly, John William, 172.

Kenan, Felix, member N. C. Sons of
Liberty, 106.

Kenan, Graham, 328, 566.

Kenan, Col. James, chairman Dup-
lin County Committee of Safety,
111; member Duplin County
“Court Martial” (1777), 103;
Revolutionary officer, 115, 329.

Kenan, Capt. James G„ sketch of,
327, 328; wounded and cap-

tured, 345.

Kenan, Dr. Owen, 328.

Kenan, Owen Rand, member Con-
federate Congress, 329; 328,331.

Kenan, Thomas, settled in Duplin
County in 1735, 328.

Kenan, Col. Thomas S., prisoner of
war on Johnson’s Island, 340,
345; sketch of, 329-332; 328.

Kenan, Capt. William Rand, sketch
of, 332; 589, 590.

Kennedy, Kate, teacher, 657.

Kerr, Captain, 325.

Keystone State, blockader, 463, 495.

Kidder, Edward, loss by of blockade
runner, 453 ; president Wilming-
ton Gas Light Company, 676;
212.

Kidder, Fred, 242.

Kidder, George W., military service
of, 332.

Kidder, Mrs. George W., president
N. C. Society of Colonial Dames
of America, 578, 580; quoted,
583.

Kidder, Gilbert P., 242, 243.

Kimball, Hon. S. I., superintendent
Cape Fear Life-saving Service,
527.

King, Charles Humphrey, sketch of,
332.

King, Rev. Joseph P., 639.

King, Nettie, 637.

Kingsbury, Dr. T. B., editor, 562;
quoted, 569, 570; sketch of, 564,
565.

Kinlaw, Corporal T., 352.

Kitchin, Gov. W. W., 540, 542.

Kramer, Rev. J. W., 638.

Kyle, Lieut. William E., sketch of,
332, 333.

Lamb, Col. John C., 487.

Lamb, Col. William, commander of
Ft. Fisher, 281, 293, 381, 398,
481; heroic defence of Ft.
Fisher by, 385, 386, 493, 494;
Lieut. Cushing tries to capture,
490; protecting blockade run-
ners, 311, 437, 442, 444, 445, 448,
451; quoted, 359, 461; sketch of,
333; wounded, 386, 434, 494.

Lamont, D. A., 269.

Lane, Rev. E. E., 626.

Lane, Ezekiel, largest landowner in
New Hanover County, 68; Stag
Park sold to, 64.

Lane, Gen. James H., 303, 323, 364.

710

Index

Lane, Joel, plantation of site of
State capital, 207.

Lane, Levin, residence of, 68.

Lane, Levin, jr., 242.

Langdon, Richard F., military serv-
ice of, 335; 253.

La Pierre, Rev. John, 605.

Larkins, John, member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Latham, Capt. A. C., 322.

Lathrop, Rev. Leonard E., minister,
617; teacher, 656.

Latimer, Henry G., 243.

Latimer, William, president Sea-
coast Railway, 677.

Latta, John C., 623.

Latta, John R., sketch of, 333, 334;
623.

Laughlin, J. J., 590.

Laurence, Alexander, 465.

Law, Augusta, 191.

Law, Gen. E. M., 347.

Law, Henry, 191.

Law, Sidney G., 172.

Lawrence, Mrs. (Sister Cecilia), 613.

Lawson, John, monument to, 584.

Lawson’s map referred to, 2.

Lawson, William E., editor, 564.

Lazarus, Aaron, director W. and W.
R.R., 150; 184,190.

Lehhy,i Captain, commander block-
ade runner Little Hattie, 452.

Lee, Capt. Daniel W., sketch of, 406,
407.

Lee, Light Horse Harry, brings
news of Cornwallis’ surrender,
115.

Lee, Gen. Robert E., correspondence
of with General Grant at Cold
Harbor, 352, 353; message of to
Governor Vance in praise of
N. C. troops, 308; telegram of
to Colonel Lamb intercepted, 387.

Legare’s Neck, famous hunting
ground, 71.

Leon, Lewis, sketch of, 334, 335.

Levy, Jacob, 141.

Lewis, Hon. Dickson H., in steam-
boat wreck, 195.

Lewis, Capt. T. C., 300, 335.

Liberty Pond, description of, 60.

Life-Saving Service, account of, 527-
529.

Light Vessel No. 94, description of,
518, 519; position of, 517, 524.

Liles, Col. E. R., 360.

Lillington, Gen. Alexander, burns
Mt. Blake, Craig’s headquarters,
71 ; member Directory chosen by
the people to resist the Stamp
Act, 95, 97, 98; member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111; residence of, 69, 92;
sketch of, 69, 120; tries to arrest
progress of Loyalists, 113-115;
wins victory at Moore’s Creek,
126; 77.

Lillington, Mrs. Alexander, said to
have been on the battlefield at
Moore’s Creek, 69.

Lillington, George, 69.

Lillington, John A., 187.

Lillington, Lieut. John, justice of
County Court (1777), 186; Rev-
olutionary officer, 120.

Lincoln, President Abraham, 271.

Lincoln, Gen. Benjamin, surrenders
at Charleston, 114, 120.

Lind, Jenny, 155, 265.

Lindsay, Robert, teacher, sketch of,
172; 186, 253.

Lineker Memorial Hall, 628.

Lineker, William A., 628.

Lineker, Mrs. William A., 628.

Linn, Rev. J. A., 640.

Lippitt, Mrs. Devereux, teacher, 657.

Lippitt, Fanny, 191.

Lippitt, J. J., 212, 226, 252, 611.

Lippitt, Capt. J. W., military service
of, 336.

Lippitt, W. H., 252.

Little, J. W., 566, 596.

Lloyd, George, 141.

Lloyd, Col. James, member N. C.
Sons of Liberty, 106.

Lloyd, Richard, 141, 615.

iThis should be Lebby in the text.

Index

111

Lloyd, Mrs., teacher, 652.

Lloyd, Col. Thomas, member Direc-
tory chosen by the people to re-
sist Stamp Act, 95, 97.

Lobb, Captain, commander H. B. M.’s
sloop of war Viper, 96; declares
confidence in ability to resist
patriots, 98; denied provisions
for British forces on the river,
95; sought in Tryon’s Palace by
patriots, 104.

Lockwood, Capt. Robert, commander
blockade runner Margaret and
Jessie, 462; prisoner of war at
Ft. Lafayette, 465.

Lockwood, Capt. Thomas J., com-
mands blockade runner Colonel
Lamb, 452; dangerous experi-
ence of in a small boat, 465-467.

Lockwood, Mrs. Thomas J., danger-
ous experience of in a small
boat, 465-467.

Lockwood’s Folly, county seat at,
680; destruction of by Indians,
36, 40, 41.

“Loco Foco” Democrats, incident
from which name was derived,
175.

London, Alexander, 242.

London, John, 141.

London, John (died young), 187.

London, John, jr., 242, 243.

London, J. R., 210, 253.

London, Mauger, eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; 187, 214,
228, 252, 611.

Long, Anthony, early explorer sent
from Barbadoes, 30, 31, 62.

Looking Forward, 685-687.

Lord, F. J., 253.

Lord, John, 135.

Lord, John B., 243.

Lord, Willie, 242.

Lord, William, Revolutionary officer,

120.

Lord, William C., 141.

Lord, W. C., collector of customs, 190;
249, 250.

Lords Proprietors, choose Sir John
Yeamans governor, 31; forbid
settlement within 20 miles of
Cape Fear River, 38; King’s
grant to, 31 ; oppose newspapers,
556.

Loring, Captain, commands U. S.
man-of-war Sabine, 404, 405.

Loring, Reuben, 141.

Loring, Thomas, editor, 117; sketch
of, 250, 557; 218, 224, 226, 249,
615.

Lougblin, C. C,, 566.

Louisiana, 493. See Butler's powder
ship.

Love, D. C., 561.

Love Grove Plantation, 169.

Love, William J., 141.

Lowry, , teacher, 656.

Lowry, William, 252.

Lumber River, original name of, 25.

Lyell, Sir Charles, writes of Wil-
mington fires, 144.

Lynch, Commodore William F., con-
troversy of with General Whit-
ing, 487; determines to raise
blockade of New Inlet, 480,482;
fleet of, 486, 487.

Mabson, Arthur, residence of, 74.

Macauslan, John, 615.

Maccoll, John, 615.

MacComb, Gen. Alexander, U. S.
engineer, 144.

Macdonald, Flora, autobiography of,
127-129; comes to the Cape Fear,
x, 39, 123; identified with Roy-
alist party, 126 ; reception of.
125.

MacKay, Murdock, 185, 615.

MacKay, William, 615.

Macks, Jacob I., 646.

Maclaine, Archibald, active in re-
sisting the Stamp Act, 92; emi-
nent member Wilmington Bar,
565; member Wilmington Com-
mittee of Safety, 111; promotes
Revolutionary Convention, 110;
Shakespearean critic, 76, 77, 81.

712

Index

Maclaine, Capt. John, Revolutionary-
officer, 120.

Maclaine, Thomas, witness to Har-
nett’s will, 122.

MacLaurin, John, narrative by, ISO-
196; sketch of, 159.

MacRae, Alexander, jr., 193.

MacRae, Gen. Alexander, military
history of, 127, 302, 337 ; presi-
dent W. and W. R. R., 152, 153,
155; promoter W. and W. R. R.,
148, 675; residence of, 185;

superintendent W. and W. R. R.,
150, 151, 195; 170, 194, 214, 218.

MacRae, Colin, 675.

Macrae, David, visits Highland set-
tlement, 123-127.

MacRae, Donald, British vice consul,
467; president Thalian Asso-
ciation, 257; promoter public
schools, 663; 176, 252, 269, 675.

MacRae, Donald, jr., 573, 675.

MacRae, Duncan K., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566.

MacRae, Capt. Henry, military serv-
ice of, 337; 172.

MacRae, Hugh, public activities of,
548, 675-677.

MacRae, Maj. James C., military-
service of, 339.

MacRae, Col. John, commissioner of
Wilmington, 174; promotes Odd
Fellows’ School, 171; 193, 194,
212, 214, 252, 675.

MacRae, John C., 252.

MacRae, Capt. Robert B., military
service of, 339; 172.

MacRae, Roderick, 243.

MacRae, Roderick (Brown Roder-
ick), descendants of, 675.

MacRae, Capt. Walter G., mayor of
Wilmington, 301, 541; retentive
memory of, 243; sketch of, 337,
338; under dbuble cross fire on
Morris Island, 300.

MacRae, Gen. William, sketch of,
127, 338, 339; 354.

McAden, Rev. Hugh, 616.

McAllister, Lieut. H. C., 352.

McClammy, Maj. Charles W., sketch
of, 336.

McClammy, H., 566.

McClammy, R. P., 563, 564.

McClanahan, Rev. G. W., 641.

McClure, Rev. Alexander D., 619,
629.

McColl, J., 252.

McCormick, Captain, 359.

McCormick, J. G., 566.

McCullen, Rev. A., 631.

McCulloh, Henry, land grants to,
328; sends settlers to North
Carolina, 101, 328.

McDaniel,! Rev. James, 636.

McDonald, Gen. Donald, capture of,
136.

McDonough, Lieut. Patrick, battery
at Fort Caswell named for, 548.

McDougal, George C., escapes im-
prisonment in Ft. Lafayette,
462-465; 467.

McDougal, Capt. James L., 304.

McDowell, Col. J. C. S., 347.

McDowell, Rev. John, early service
of, 85, 86, 607.

McDuffie, Archibald, 78.

Mcllhenny, John, superintendent
Wilmington Gas Light Com-
pany, 676.

Mcllhenny, Lieut. John C., military
service of, 340.

Mcllhenny, Col. Thomas C., recites
incident of Daniel Webster’s
visit, 218; 253.

Mclntire, Dr. Andrew, 339.

Mclntire, Capt. Robert M., sketch of,
339, 340.

Mclver, Alexander, work of as State
superintendent of education, 662.

Mclver, Charles D., educational
campaign of, 662.

Mclver, Rev. Colin, 615.

McKaughan, Rev. J. A., 639.

McKavett, Capt. Henry, battery at
Ft. Caswell named for, 548.

McKay, , officer blockade run-

ner Armstrong, 423.

1McDiarmid (not indexed), page 9^9, should

be McDiarmid in the text, and not McDearmid.

Index

713

McKay, Gen. James Ivor, sketch of,
227-229; 682.

McKay, Murdock, 185, 615.

McKelway, Dr. A. J., editor, 559.

McKoy, Judge A. A., 356.

McKoy, Catherine, 642.

McKoy, Henry, 239.

McKoy, Maj. J. A., 360.

McKoy, Maj. Thomas Hall, sketch
of, 340.

McKoy, W. B., quoted, 17; sketch
by, 591-594; 248, 566.

McLauchlin, Robert, sketch of, 171,
172.

McLaurin, John, editor, 559; 172.

McLaurin, Kate, 191.

McLaurin, Maggie, 191.

McLean, , officer on blockade

runner Chameleon, 473, 474.

McLeod, Maggie, teacher, 164, 170.

McManus, Capt. Thomas, officer in
French and Indian War, 119.

McMillan, Rev. George W., 617.

McMillan, Hamilton, quoted, 23, 24.

McMillan, Capt. J. D., 300.

McMillan, A. Adj. William Dougald,
sketch of, 336, 337.

McNeill, Col. Archibald F., 141, 249.

McNeill, Dr. Daniel, 249.

McNeill, Rev. George, editor, 559.

McNeill, “Bluff Hector,” early Scotch
immigrant, 125.

McNeill, Rev. James A., 617.

McNeill, William Gibbs, 249.

McNorton, J. A., 566.

McQueen, Henry C., director Tide
Water Power Company, 677;
sketch of, 340, 341; vice presi-
dent W., B., and S. R. R., 546;
541, 561.

McQueen, Mrs. Henry C., 341.

McQueen, Rev. Martin, 618.

McRae, Capt. Farquhar, 141.

McRae, Rev. W. V., 632.

McRary house, headquarters of Corn-
wallis, 592.

McRee, Griffith, 242.

McRee, Griffith J., quoted, 76, 77;
214.

McRee, Maj. Griffith John, Revolu-
tionary officer, 121.

McRee, Dr. James Fergus, commis-
sioner of Wilmington, 180;
magistrate of police, 174;
scholar, 121; sketch of, 68, 182,
183, 250; 169, 224, 249.

McRee, Dr. James Fergus, jr., mili-
tary service of, 340; surgeon in
Wilkings-Flanner duel, 234, 236;
193, 213, 226.

McRee, Mrs. , 141.

McRee, Robert, 242.

McRee, Sergt. Maj. Robert, military
service of, 340.

McRee, Gen. Sam, officer in Mexican
War, 121.

McRee, William, 682.

McRee, Cadet William, 134.

Madison, Surgeon William S., bat-
tery at Ft. Caswell named for,
548.

Maffitt, Capt. John N., commands the
Lilian, 403, 452; commands the
Owl, 433, 471, 475; escapes cap-
ture on crossing Western Bar
after fall of Ft. Fisher, 471, 472,
475, 476; life of at Smithville,
202; report of hydrographic
work of, 201, 202; sketch of,
202, 203; takes news of fall of
Ft. Fisher to Nassau, 476.

Maffitt, Mrs. John N., describes life
of Capt. Maffitt at Smithville,
202, 203.

Maglenn, Capt. James, escapes from
capture, 458; officer blockade
runner Advance, 457.

Main Bar, changes in the channel
of, 506; 507, 511.

Malloy, Capt. Charles, 303.

Mallory, Secretary S. R., navy of,
486, 487.

Manly, M. E., Judge ( Superior Court) ,
186.

Mann, Rev. Dr. James, 631.

Manning, C., 252.

Manning, Capt. E. W., 480.

Manson, Dr. Otis F. (of Richmond),
367.

714

Index

Marcus, H., 646.

Marion Mission, account of, 628,
629.

Marion, Rev. Patrick, 643.

Marion Sprunt Memorial, account
of, 600-602.

Marsden, Rev. Richard, early serv-
ice of, 71, 85, 605, 606.

Marshall, Captain (steamboat), 195.

Marshall, James, 141, 615.

Marshall, John, 176.

Marshall, Samuel, member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Marsteller, Col. Lewis D., Revolu-
tionary officer, 252.

Marsteller, Gen. Lewis H., clerk of
New Hanover County Court,
122; collector of customs, 190;
sketch of, 252; 194, 212, 218,
226.

Martin, Alexander, 78, 103.

Martin, Alfred, 253.

Martin, Mrs. Alfred, vice president
Soldiers’ Aid Society, 293.

Martin, Captain D. A., commands
Lilian, 402.

Martin, Capt. Eugene S., chief of
ordnance and artillery at Ft.
Fisher, 380; plants torpedoes in
Cape Fear River, 499, 500;

sketch of, 341, 342; 242, 243,
566.

Martin, Rev. G. A., 639.

Martin, Gov. Josiah, action of with
reference to Ft. Johnston, 54;
administration of, 88, 112;

course of in the Revolution,
112, 113; 53, 126.

Martin, Gen. J. G., blockade recom-
mended by, 454.

Martin, Silas N., work of in behalf
of Union Free School, 659, 660.

Martin, Willie, 243.

Massachusetts sends aid to Cape
Fear (1667), 34.

Matthews, Dr. John E., military serv-
ice of, 342, 343.

Maultsby, John, New Liverpool
(Wilmington) situated on lands
of, 14, 45.

Maverick, Samuel, writes of failure
of Charlestown settlement, 36.

Meade, Professor, 657.

Meares, Capt. E. G., military service
of, 344; 363, 364.

Meares, Col. Gaston, death of, 297,
360, 579; sketch of, 296; 212,
298, 344.

Meares, Mrs. Gaston, work of as
president N. C. Society Colonial
Dames of America, 579.

Meares, Iredell, account by of Presi-
dent Taft’s visit to Wilmington,
540-542; quoted, 208; 566.

Meares, John L., 212, 213, 252.

Meares, Mrs. Kate DeRosset, 612,
613.

Meares, Col. O. P., eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; secession-
ist, 271; second in Wilkings-
Flanner duel, 234-237; sketch
of, 343, 344; 280.

Meares, Tom, 242.

Meares, Thomas D., 187, 214, 219.

Meares, Thomas D., jr., military
service of, 343; 243, 566.

Meares, Walker, member school
committee, 663; quoted, 155;
sketch by, 265.

Meares, Willie, 242.

Meares, William B., director W. and
W. R. R., 150; eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 187, 566; pro-
moter W. and W. R. R., 148;
210, 249, 252.

Meginney, Levin, school of, 172, 656;
sketch of, 656.

Memminger, C. G., 486.

Mendelssohn, Rabbi Samuel, 645.

Mengert, Rev. Dr. John H., 640, 641.

Meredith, William, 629, 630, 633.

Merrick, Col. George, active in re-
sisting Stamp Act, 92; member
New Hanover County Commit-
tee of Safety, 111.

Index

715

Merrimac, Confederate ironclad,
effect of on naval warfare, 477.

Metts, Capt. James I., sketch, of, 344-
346; 243, 273.

Myers, Rev. E. M., 644.

Middleton, , officer on a block-

ade runner, 423.

Milan, Anthony, British consul,
sketch of, 258, 259; poem about,
460, 461.

Miller, C. B., 190.

Miller, David M., 250.

Miller, Dr. James A., service of as
Confederate surgeon, 346.

Miller, Col. James T., chairman
Court of Pleas and Quarter Ses-
sions, 187, 254; director W. and
W. R. R., 152; president Tha-
lian Association, 252, 254;

sketch of, 254, 255; 194, 211,
212, 218, 226, 250, 253.

Miller, Capt. John, military service
of, 346; 310, 321.

Miller, T. C., 187, 228.

Miller, Thomas, eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; 269, 346.

Mitchell, B. F., 170.

Mitchell, Captain , 656.

Moir, Rev. James, 606, 607.

Monroe, President James, visits
Wilmington, 208-211.

Montgomery, blockader, takes the
blockade runner Bat, 403, 404.

Monuments.

Commemorating Battle of
Moore’s Creek, 113; commemo-
rating resistance to Stamp Act,
581; marking the site of Ft.
Johnston, 581, 584; to Confeder-
ate heroes, 275; to George Davis,
572-574; to Cornelius Harnett,
579, 580; to John Lawson, 584;
to Col. Maurice Moore, in St.
Philip’s Church, 581, 582; to the
women of the Revolution, 113.

Moody, Rev. D. L., evangelistic serv-
ices of, 617.

Moon, Capt. J. W., 300.

Mooney, James, quoted, 16.

Moore, Alfred, 210.

Moore, Judge Alfred, associate jus-
tice U. S. Supreme Court, 77;
residence of, 57; Revolutionary
officer, 120; sells Rocky Point
lands, 68.

Moore, Col. Alexander Duncan,
sketch of, 306; 346.

Moore, Sergt. Maj. Alexander
Duncan, military service and
death of, 346; 242.

Moore, B. F., director W. and W.
R. R., 151.

Moore, George, appointed to assist
in erecting Ft. Johnston, 53;
justice of County Court (1777),
186; member N. C. Sons of
Liberty, 106; member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111; one of the leaders
in resistance to Stamp Act, 97,
98, 104; residence of, 70, 92.

Moore, Hilliary, 141.

Moore, Ida N., 582.

Moore, Capt. J. G., 317.

Moore, Col. James, brings troops
from South Carolina to aid
North Carolina colonists, 38.

Moore, Gen. James, active in resist-
ance to Stamp Act, 97, 99; death
of, 77; distinguished in French
and Indian War and in the
Revolution, 50; member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111; member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106; promotes Revo-
lutionary Convention, 110;
sketch of, 119; 78.

Moore, Gov. James (of South Caro-
lina), 38.

Moore, James Osborne, purser in
Confederate Navy, 34{>.

Moore, John, residence of, 57.

Moore, Capt. Julius Walker, sketch
of, 346.

Moore, Col. Maurice, brings troops
from South Carolina to aid
North Carolina colonists, 38 ;
contention of with Governor
Burrington over Rocky Point
lands, 68; leads troops to aid of

716

Index

Moore, Col. Maurice, continued.

South Carolina, 38; residence
of, 92; settles the Cape Fear
(1725), 39; tablet erected to,
581; 44.

Moore, Ensign Maurice, jr., Revolu-
tionary officer, 120.

Moore, Judge Maurice, active in re-
sistance to Stamp Act, 97; 76,
81.

Moore, Nathaniel, plantation of
(1734), 41, 42; residence of, 57.

Moore, Parker Quince, sketch of,
551; views of on municipal gov-
ernment, 551, 552.

Moore, Richard, 242, 243.

Moore, Roger, 252.

Moore, Capt. Roger, Revolutionary
officer, 120.

Moore, Col. Roger, military service
of, 308; 368.

Moore, “King” Roger, builds and re-
sides at Orton, 41, 44, 57; com-
missioned to assist in erecting
Ft. Johnston, 53; commissioned
to take measures for defence
against Spaniards, 50; gains
victory over Indians at Sugar
Loaf, 14, 16; owned Kendal, 58;
why called “King” Roger, 16.

Moore, Sallie, 70.

Moore, Schencking, residence of, 57.

Moore, William, sells Russellbor-
ough, 104.

Moore, William, 70.

Moore’s Creek, account of battle of,
69, 126; 113.

Moran, James, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Moran, Rev. Dr. R. S., 631.

Mordecai, Emma, teacher, 657.

Morehead, James, Revolutionary
officer, 118.

Morehead, Col. James T., 335.

Morehead, John M., elected gover-
nor, 175; N. C. Commissioner
to Peace Congress, 268.

Morrelle, Rev. Daniel, 185.

Morris, Amy, work of in developing
public school system, 660.

Morris, John, 191.

Morris, Wilkes, 253.

Morrison, Capt. George, officer on
blockade runner Advance, 455;
sketch of, 457.

Morton, Rev. P. C., 626.

Moseley, Edward, active in resist-
ance to Stamp Act, 92; commis-
sioned to take measures for de-
fence against the Spaniards, 50;
commissioned to assist in erect-
ing Ft. Johnston, 53; library of,
80.

Moseley, Sampson, justice of County
Court (1777), 186; member

King’s council, 66; member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111, 112.

Moseley, W. D., director W. and W.
R. R., 150.

Moseley’s map of the Cape Fear
River, reference to, 7.

Mosher, historian, 81.

Motte, Rev. Mr., 608.

Mount Vernon, blockader, 481.

“Mud Market” (fish market), 189,
593.

Mulock, Jesse, school of, 165, 191,
651; 170, 192.

Mumford, Professor, 657.

Murchison, Capt. David R., presi-
dent Carolina Central Railway
Company, 671; sells controlling
interest in Carolina Central R.
R., 674; sketch of, 350, 351;
with Col. K. M. Murchison gives
St. Philip’s Church to diocese of
North Carolina, 348, 582.

Murchison, Duncan, 347.

Murchison, Col. John R., death of
occasion of correspondence be-
tween General Lee and General
Grant, 352, 353; sketch of, 351.

Murchison, Kenneth McK., emigra-
ted from Scotland, 347.

Murchison, Col. Kenneth McKenzie,
organizes military company,
365; owner of Orton, 57; sketch
of, 347-350; with Capt. D. R.
Murchison gives St. Philip’s

Index

717

Murchison, Col. K. M., continued .
Church to diocese of North
Carolina, 348; 305, 582.

Murchison, Mrs. Kenneth McK., 580.

Murchison, Kenneth McKenzie, New
York architect, son of Col. Ken-
neth McKenzie Murchison, 601.

Murphey, Judge Archibald, 210.

Murphy, boy courier, 274.

Murphy, M., 141.

Murphy, Patrick, 141, 274.

Murphy, Rev. Father, heroism of in
yellow fever epidemic, 287.

Murphy, Robert, 615.

Murphy, Rev. Thomas, 642.

Murray, Capt. Aynsley, officer of the
British Navy commanding
blockade runners Venus and
Hansa, 461, 469.

Murrell, Gaston M., 638.

Murrell, Z. E., 638.

Muse, Commodore W. T., sketch of,
353.

Myers, Charles D., military services
of, 346.

Myers, C. W., 253.

Myers, Rev. E. M., 644.

Myers, George, 253.

Myrover, J. H., 205.

Nansemond (blockader), 419, 420,
481.

Nash, Judge Frederick, 186.

Nash, Rev. Dr. L. L., 631.

Nashville, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Neale, Samuel, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Needham, Lady Alice, 579..

Negrohead Point (Point Peter), 14,
134.

Nelson, Charles, narrative of, 424-
426; 432.

Nethercutt, Col. J. H., 314.

Neuse River, colony on, well-nigh
destroyed, 38.

New Bern, effort to make principal
port of North Carolina, 594;
General Lillington stationed
near, 115; Governor Martin fled

New Bern, continued.

from, 112; Governor Tryon es-
tablished seat of government at,
87 ; Revolutionary Convention
met at, 110.

Newcomer, Waldo, rehabilitates A.
C. L. Railroad, 668.

New England explorers (1660), 30.

New Hanover Association, 112.

New Hanover County, early popu-
lation of, 139; proceedings of
Committee of Safety in, 110-112.

New Hanover Militia, 120.

New Hanover precinct, originally in
Carteret, 40.

New Inlet, closing, 12, 146; depth
of, 10; defence of, 135; defence
of in war, 276; formation of, 8;
one of the mouths of the Cape
Fear River, 488, 507, 511; tor-
pedoes anchored near, 500; used
by blockade runners, 388, 392,
480.

New Inlet Bar, depth on, 506, 511;
used by trading vessels, 507.

Newland, Rev. L. T., 619.

Newland, Mrs. L. T., 619.

New Liverpool, 45. See Wilmington.

Newspapers in the Cape Fear and
their editors, history of, 74, 77,

108, 177-181, 303, 556-565.

Newton, 44, 45. See Wilmington.

Newton, Daniel, 172.

Nina, coastwise boat, 224, 226.

Niphon, blockader, attacks block-
ade runners, 407, 450, 459; 481.

Nissfield, Mrs. Anne, 78.

Nixon, Nicholas N., 611.

Noble, M. C. S., Superintendent City
public schools, 663, 665.

Noe, Rev. Thomas P., 613, 614.

Noe, Rev. W. R., 614.

Non-Importation Agreement, 107-

109.

Norman, Rev. W. C., 631.

Norment, Capt. William S., 303.

North Carolina, Confederate ship,
description of, 479; heavy draft
of, 487.

718

Index

North Carolina receives help from
South Carolina against Indians,
38; sends help to South Caro-
lina against Indians, 38.

North Carolina Society of Colonial
Dames of America, erects monu-
ment to Cornelius Harnett, 579,
580; marks site of Tryon’s Pal-
ace, 106; sketch of, 578-583.

North Carolina, steamer on the
Charleston line, 145, 195.

Northeast River. Branch of Cape
Fear River, 7; improvement of,
12; Wilmington on, 14, 31; early
plantations on, sketch of:
Ashe-Moore, 68; Castle Haynes,
71, 72; Clayton Hall, 66; Fair
Fields, 74; Green Hill, 65, 66;
Hermitage, 72; Hilton, 75;
Hyrneham, 63, 71; Lillington
Hall, 69, 81; Moore Fields, 70;
Moseley Hall, 66; Mt. Blake,
71; Mt. Gallant, 71; Mulberry,
71; Neck, 64; Nesces Creek, 74;
Oaks, 71; Pleasant Hall, 71;
Rock Hill, 78; Rocky Run, 72,
73; Rose Hill, 73; Sampson
Hall, 65, 71, 120; Sans Souci,
75, 169; Spring Field, 68; Stag
Park, 29, 33,, 63, 64; Strawberry,
68; Swann Point, 71; Vats, 68.

Northrop, Caroline, 191.

Northrop, Clarissa, 191.

Northrop, Isaac, 191.

Northrop, John T., 243.

Northrop, Capt. Wm. H., sketch of,
354.

Northrup, Commissary General L. J.,
485.

Northwest River, branch of Cape
Fear River, 14, 41, 44.

Norwood, John G., 663.

Nutt, J. D., 240.

Nutt, Henry, active in closing New
Inlet, 1, 10, 11; 193, 219, 226, 506j
537, 611.

Oak Island Channel, improvement
of, 10.

Oakley, Mrs. Julia A., president Me-
morial Association, 275.

O’Connor, Maj. D., 643.

Ocracoke Inlet, seized by Span-
iards, 49.

Odd Fellows’ Lodge, organization
of, 170, 171.

Oil, use of to prevent breaking seas,
demonstrated in an article by
Alexander Sprunt, 529; by cut-
ter Seminole, 530, 531; by U. S.
Navy? 530.

Oldham, Capt. W. P., military serv-
ice of, 354.

Old Capitol Prison, 359.

Old Inlet, one of the mouths of the
Cape Fear River, 483, 488. See
Main Bar and Western Bar.

“Old Palace Field,” 105.

Old school days in Wilmington,
account of, 238-244.

Old-time Spelling, examples of, 4.

“Old Seventy-six,” description of,
186, 209. See Assembly Hall.

Oliver, Rev. W. B., 637.

Orton, colonial trading vessel, 39.

Orton Cove, torpedoes planted in,
500.

Orton Plantation. Description of, 41,
57-61; Heron Colony on, 61-63;
residence of “King” Roger
Moore, 41, 57, 348; residence of
Dr. Fred J. Hill, 658; residence
of Col. K. M. Murchison, 348-
350, 582; residence of Mr. James
Sprunt, 62, 583; Russellborough
on, 104; sawmill at, 510; Tryon’s
palace on, 103, 104, 105, 106, 142,
143.

Overman, Senator Lee S. Valuable
service of in securing appro-
priations for Cape Fear River,
517; 541, 547.

Owen, Gov. James, president W. and
W. R. R., 150, 151, 195; resi-
dence of, 176; governor, 682;
210, 214, 224, 226.

Owen, Gen. Thomas, 303.

Owen, Rev. Thomas R., 617.

Owen, Col. William, 335.

Index

719

Paddison, Richard P., narrative by,
354-358.

Page, Hon. R. N., 541.

Paggett, Louis, 141.

Pamlico, colony on well-nigh de-
stroyed, 38.

“Paradise,” 160.

Parish, Richard, 615.

Parker, Rev. A. J., 631.

Parker, Wm. M., 663.

Parrish, Joel, 111.

Parsley, Oscar G. Commissioner of
schools, 174; director W. and
W. R. R., 152; uniforms mili-
tary company, 297; 213.

Parsley, Capt. O. G., 186, 193, 247,
269.

Parsley, R. A., 548.

Parsley, Col. William M., sketch of,
297-299; 271, 345.

Parsley, Mrs. William M., narrative
by, 271; 572.

Patterson, Rev. Dr. George, chaplain
Third Regiment, 275; 254, 612.

Patterson, Gen. Samuel F., secretary
Internal Improvement Conven-
tion, 148.

Payne, Rev. Dr. C. M., 619.

Payseur, Rev. J. J., 638.

Pearsall, Oscar, director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677;
erects Pearsall Memorial
Church, 619.

Pearson, Chief Justice R. M., law
school of, 329; 186.

Pearson, T. Gilbert, report of on
Crane Neck Heron Colony, 62,
63.

Pearson, Rev. R. G., 617.

Peck, George A., 536.

Peck, Sarah, 191.

Peden, James A., 187.

Peden, Maj. W. N., 194, 219, 252.

Peele, Rev. R. E., 638.

Pender, Gen. W. D., 309.

Pennington, William, H. B. M.’s con-
troller of customs, 76; resigna-
tion of, 99.

Percival, Andrew, register of Berke-
ley Precinct, 3.

Person, Hon. Samuel J., 212, 270,
566, 611.

Peschau, Rev. Dr. F. W. E., 641.

Peschau, George L., 566.

Peterson, Sam, 242.

Pettigrew, Col. J. Johnston, 317.

Phipps, Captain, commander H. B.
M.’s sloop of war Diligence, 96.

Pierce, L, H., 193, 252.

Pinckney, Commodore, commander
naval defences of the Cape
Fear, 487.

Pirates, execution of, 37.

Pitt, Rev. Thomas D., 612.

Plowden, Rev. J. M., 627, 628.

Plyler, Rev. M. T., 632.

Point Caswell, 13.

Point Peter, 14.

Poisson, F. P., 253, 566.

Poisson, John J., 172.

Poisson, Dr. Louis J., sketch of, 183.

Poisson, L. J., 566.

Polk, President James K., visits
Wilmington, 208, 211, 212.

Pool, Col. S. D., 565.

“Poor House Square,” 184.

Porter, Admiral David D., commands
fleet attacking Ft. Fisher, 490-
494; quoted, 386, 387; 491.

Porter, Capt. Elisha, sketch of 358.

Porter, John, 92.

Porter, Capt. John L., chief con-
structor C. S. Navy, 479.

Porterfield, Maj. Denny, 682.

Postroads, Governor Tryon recom-
mends establishment of, 87.

Potter, Gilbert, director W. and W.
R. R., 152; 214, 218.

Potter, Capt. Samuel, director W.
and W. R. R., 151, 152; enter-
tains Henry Clay, 215; 218.

Potts, Joshua, founds Smithville,
135; makes survey and map of
Cape Fear River, 9; reports on
trade of Wilmington, 502-506.

Pratt, Dr. Joseph Hyde, quoted, 203.

Price, Alfred L., editor, 178, 558.

Price, Capt. Joseph, captures Water
Witch, 358; sketch of, 358; 404.

Index

720

Price, Capt. Richard W., sketch of,
358.

Price, Susie, 613.

Price, Dr. William J., editor, 178;
252.

Primrose, Rev. J. W., 619.

Primrose, W. S., 24.

Pritchard, Rev. John L., 287, 636.

Prometheus, first steamboat on the
Cape Fear, account of arrival of,
138, 139.

Public buildings, account of, 591-603.

Purdie, Col. Thomas J., 303.

Purviance, Samuel, fortifies Wil-
mington against approach of
British, 113; Revolutionary of-
ficer, 120.

Purviance, Judge William, 78, 92, 186.

Quince, John, member New Hanover
County Committee of Safety,
111.

Quince, Mrs., 208.

Quince, Parker, colonial merchant,
73, 74; goes to relief of Boston,
110.

Quince, Richard, sr., lived at Orton,
57; member N. C. Sons of Lib-
erty, 106.

Quince, Richard, jr., member N. C.
Sons of Liberty, 106, 109.

Quince, Lieut. W. H., 310, 344.

Quincy, Josiah, 53, 579.

Radcliffe, Col. James Dillard, sketch
of, 307; 343 363.

Radcliffe, Capt.’R. S., 644.

Radcliffe, W. C., 141.

Railroads.

Declaration of State policy, 148 ;
first American built locomotive,
149; first railroad project, 149;
history of different lines: At-

lantic Coast Line, history and
present condition of, 668-671;
Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley,
projection and failure of, 147;
Carolina Central, history of,

Railroads, continued.

671-673; Wilmington subscribes
to, 196, 197; Seaboard Air Line,
history and present condition
of, 671-674; Wilmington, Bruns-
wick and Southport, account of,
546; Wilmington, Charlotte, and
Rutherford, anticipated value of
in cotton transportation, 513;
becomes Carolina Central, 671;
Wilmington and Manchester,
small loss sustained by in fire
of 1864, 535; Wilmington sub-
scribes to, 196, 197; Wilmington
and Weldon (Wilmington and
Raleigh), chartered, 149; con-
necting lines consolidated, 669;
equipment of worn out at end
of war, 668, 670; history of, ISO-
156; 194-196; longest railroad in
the world (1840), 153; Internal
Improvement Convention of
1833, 148; origin of railroad
project, 149, 507.

Rake’s Delight, early trading
schooner, 39.

Raleigh, Confederate ironclad ram,
attacks blockading squadron,
480-483; 401, 487.

Raleigh Sentinel, service of to
North Carolina, 564.

Raleigh, Sir Walter, spelling of
name of, 2.

Raleigh, U. S. S., two services of,
silver presented to by North
Carolina, 532.

Ramousin, Augustus, 252.

Ramsey, Capt. John A., 359.

Rankin, Capt. John T., fire engine
named for, 537; sketch of, 359;
242, 243.

Rankin, Laura (Mrs. Rothwell),
teacher, 164, 170, 191.

Rankin, N. B., 243.

Rankin, Robert, 141.

Rankin, Capt. Robert G., chairman
Citizen’s Committee of Safety
(1861), 277; sketch of 358, 359;
193, 214, 249, 269, 304. ’

Index

721

Ransom, Senator M. W., N. C. Com-
missioner to Peace Congress,
268; secures aid for Cape Fear
River improvement, 146.

Ransom, Gen. Robert, 308, 656.

Ransom, Mrs. Robert, teacher, 656.

Reed, Capt. E. C., commands Con-
federate cruiser Sumter, 398;
experiences of in the blockade,
396, 399, 401, 407, 430, 431, 450,
451.

Regulators’ War, 136.

Rehder, Mrs. Henry, 572.

Reid, David, Jr., eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 187.

Reid, Gov. David S., N. C. Commis-
sioner to Peace Congress (1861),
268; 228.

Reilly, Maj. James I., commands
Reilly’s battery, 277 ; defends
land face in attack on Ft.
Fisher, 359, 384-386; in com-
mand at Ft. Caswell, 272; sur-
renders Ft. Johnston, 280.

Renting for a “peppercorn,” 171.

Repiton, A. Paul, jr., military serv-
ice of, 360.

Repiton, Rev. A. Paul, heroic serv-
ice of in yellow fever epidemic,
287; pastor, 635, 636; teacher,
170, 652; 360.

Reston, John R., sketch of, 255, 256;
252.

Reston, Thomas Clayton, 615.

Reston, William, 253.

“Retainers,” 137.

Retribution, Confederate cruiser,
404, 478.

Revenue-Cutter Service, account of,
525-526.

Revolution.

Aid sent to Boston, 110; arrival
of the British fleet, 113; Battle
at Big Bridge, 118; Battle of
Elizabethtown, 115, 116-119;

Battle of McKenzie’s mill-dam,
58; Battle of Moore’s Creek, 69,
113, 126; Battle on the New
Bern road, 209; conditions in
Bladen, 115, 116, 119; Cornwal-

Revolution, continued.

lis in Wilmington, 114; Craig’s
“bull pen,” 114; Craig con-
structs fort at Rutherford Mills,
114; Craig in Duplin, 115;
Craig takes possession of Wil-
mington, 114; encounter at Rock
Creek, 115; Fanning captures
Governor Burke, 115; first overt
act of violence, 103; General
Rutherford hems Craig in, 115;
Governor Martin flees to Ft.
Johnston, 112; institution of
Revolutionary Government, 110;
Loyalists embody, 113; Loyal-
ists overrun Cape Fear, 114;
military organizations in the
Cape Fear, 113; military
strength of the Cape Fear de-
pleted by fighting at the South,
114; New Hanover Association
adopted, 111, 112; North Caro-
lina engaged in blockade run-
ning, 454; proceedings of the
Committee of Safety, 110-112;
rallying of the Whigs, 115; reso-
lution for independence, 88;
Scotch become Tories, 125, 126;
St. James’s Church made hos-
pital by the British, 608; sur-
render of Cornwallis, 115;
Tories subdued, 117; “Tory
Hole,” 117; Whigs and Tories,
112-116; withdrawal of the
British, 116.

Rexford, Rev. W. L., 632.

Reynolds, Rt. Rev. Dr., bishop of
Charleston, S. C., 642.

Rheinstein, F., 646.

Rhett, Col. William, organizes ex-
pedition against pirates, 37.

Rhodes, Capt. E. H., 310, 344.

Ricaud, A. G., 566.

Ricaud, Rev. T. Page, 631.

Rice, Col. Nathaniel, appointed com-
missioner to assist in erecting
Ft. Johnston, 53; residence of,
57, 142; 678.

Richardson, Dr. J. J., physician to
President Taft, 541.

722

Index

Richardson, Mrs., teacher, 172.

Richert, Rev. Otto, 642.

Ridley, Capt. C. S., assistant engi-
neer U. S. A., xi.

Rip Channel, depth in (1853), 10.

Ritenour, Dr. Thomas N., 356.

River Counties, history of, 678-683.

River lighting, 520, 521.

Roads, Henry, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Robeson, John, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106; 78.

Robeson, Thomas, 682.

Robeson, William, member New
Hanover County Committee of
Safety, 111; 118.

Roberts, Captain, 400. See Hobart.

Robertson, Rev. Noel, 617.

Robinson, Q. M. Sergt. C. H.,
sketch of, 360; 231.

Robinson, Sergt. Frederick G.,
sketch of, 360.

Robinson, John, justice of County
Court (1777), 186; member

Wilmington Committee of
Safety, 111.

Robinson, John M., president R. and
G. R. R., 674.

Robson, Stewart, 141.

Rocky Point, described, 68; Col.
Maurice Moore contends with
Governor Burrington over pos-
session of, 68; named by explor-
ers, 28, 31; residence of many
colonial patriots, 67, 81, 92.

Rogers, Rev. C. T., 632.

Rogers, H. E., 566.

Rogers, John (midshipman), teach-
er, 655.

Rose, British colonial prison ship,
45, 60.

Roster of Cape Fear Camp, U. C. V.,
369-378.

Rothwell, Mrs. Laura P. (Miss
Laura Rankin), sketch of, 170,
657; 164, 191.

Rountree, George, 566, 573.

Rowan, Matthew, commissioned to
assist in erecting Ft. Johnston,
53.

Rowan, Robert, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

R. R. Cuyler, blockader, steamer
Stonewall Jackson chased by in
neutral waters, 416, 417.

Ruark, Robert, 566.

Ruffin, Hon. Thomas, N. C. commis-
sioner to Peace Congress, 268.

Russell, Harry P., sketch of, 560;
559.

Russell, H. P., 252.

Russell, J. B., 252.

Russell, Capt. John, names and
owns Russellborough, 104.

Russellborough, residence of Gov-
ernor Dobbs, 57; residence of
Governor Tryon, 104-106; scene
of first armed resistance in the
Revolution, 103. See Stamp Act
on the Gape Fear.

Rutherford, Gen. Griffith, marches
to the relief of Wilmington, 115.

Rutherford, John, 606.

Ryan, T. F., controls Seaboard sys-
tem, 675.

Ryckman, Miss, teacher, 650.

St. Gabriel’s parish, establishment
of, 101.

St. Philip’s Church, description and
history of, 59, 60, 85, 86; 143,
574, 582, 606, 607.

Sabine, U. S. man-of-war, Confeder-
ate prisoners confined on, 404,
405.

Sailors’ chanties, x.

Sallie, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Salter, William (of Bladen), 682.

Sampson, Col. James, member N. C.
Sons of Liberty, 106; one of the
settlers of New Hanover County,
328.

Sampson, Col. John, active in re-
sistance to Stamp Act, 97;
defends Brunswick against the
Spaniards, 50; residence of, 65,
120.

Sampson, Joseph E., member school
committee, 663.

Sampson, Michael, residence of, 71.

Index

723

Sanford, Robert, writes of condi-
tions on Charles River, 32-34.

Sanford, Thomas, sketch of, 255;
214, 252.

“Sapona,” Indian name for Cape
Fear River, 6, 14.

Sarecta, residence of William
Houston, stamp master, 102.

Sassard, John, officer blockade run-
ner Mary Celeste, sketch of, 422,
423.

Satchwell, P. D., 566.

Saunders, Rev. D. J. (colored),
editor, 560, 621.

Saunders, Romulus M., candidate
for governor in 1840, 175.

Saunders, Maj. William J., Con-
federate chief of artillery in
second attack on Ft. Fisher,
359.

Saunders, Col. William L., editor, 558;
secures charter for Memorial
Association, 275.

Savage, Dick, 191.

Savage, Col. Edward, military serv-
ice of, 360; 253.

Savage, Capt. Henry, sketch of, 360,
361; 219, 226, 253, 273, 303.

Savage, May, 191.

Savage, Sarah, 191.

Sawyer, Rev. Mr., 631.

Scharf, Colonel, quoted, 475, 476,
477-479.

Schaw, Robert, 78.

Schenck, Aletta Jane, 191.

Schenck, Nicholas W., 172, 191.

Schnibben, , chief of fire de-

partment, 538.

Schofield, Gen. John McA., in attack
on Wilmington, 496, 497, 498.

Schools.

Announcement of early schools
(1812-1840), 648-654; Cape Fear
schools prior to 1800, 655; es-
tablishment of high schools,
665; opposition to high schools,
664; public education in Wil-
mington, 657, 658; public

schools, history of, 658-666; re-
port of superintendent of

Schools, continued.

schools in 1886, 663; report on
Wilmington schools in 1882,
663; rules of a school of 1840,
653, 654; schools just prior to
the war, 656, 657; Tileston Nor-
mal School building given to
Wilmington, 660.

Schultz, Abe, 646.

Scorpion, H. B. M.’s sloop of war,
45, 104.

Scotch emigration to North Caro-
lina, 124, 125.

Scott, Gen. Winfield, quoted, 173;
491.

Scruggs, Rev. A. A., 638.

Scull, J. H., 566.

Seaman’s Friend Society, 576, 577.

Seeders, Thomas T., 560.

Sell, Rev. E. C., 632.

Seminole, coast guard cutter, head-
quarters of, 524; officers of, 524;
President Taft on, 541; service
of, 524 ; uses oil to prevent
breaking seas, 530, 531; wireless
equipment of, 524, 525.

Settle, Judge Thomas (Superior
Court), 186.

Shackelford, Lieut. Daniel, military
service and death of, 361.

Shackelford, John F., 243.

Shackelford, Theodore, military
service and death of, 361.

Shaftesbury, Earl of, author Habeas
Corpus Act, 3; character of, 3;
elected first chief justice of
Carolina, 3.

Shamburger, Rev. S. M., 631.

Sharp, Capt. John H., sketch of,
674, 675.

Shenandoah, Confederate cruiser,
478.

Shenandoah, U. S. man-of-war,
chases Lilian, 392, 393; 417.

Shepard, Dr. Joseph C., sketch of,
361.

Shepherd, Rev. Mr., teacher, 170.

Shepperd, Col. William, 655.

Sherwood, , 620.

Sherwood, Daniel, 252.

724

Index

Shipp, Lieut. William E., battery at
Ft. Caswell named for, 547.

Schroeder, , officer blockade

runner Chameleon, 474.

Shuter, Samuel, 190.

Sickle, Maj. H. W., U. S. engineers, x.

Sidbury, K. C., 566.

Sieg, Mrs. J. McC., 619.

Simmons, Senator F. M., secures
Congressional aid for Cape
Fear River improvement, 147.

Simonton, Col. C. H., capture of, 495;
in command at Ft. Caswell, 282,
380.

Simpson, Mrs. Jane Anna, writes of
George Washington’s visit to
Wilmington, 208.

Simpson, Jessie B., teacher, 652.

Simpson, Gen. J. H., U. S. A., in
charge of Cape Fear River im-
provement, 10.

Singleton, Rev. Dr. Horace L., 617.

Skelding, A. B., general manager
Tide Water Power Company,
677.

Skinner, Capt. S. W., 176.

Slingsby, Col. John, appointed to
aid in obstructing' Cape Fear
River Channel (1775), 8; falls
commanding Tories at Eliza-
bethtown, 117, 118; held Whig
prisoners, 119.

Sloan, Maj. Benjamin, ordnance
officer on General Whiting’s
staff, 484.

Slocum, Dr. Robert B., sketch by,
597-603.

Slocumb, Mary, monument to, 113.

Small, Hon. John H., promotes in-
land water-way improvement in
Congress, 549; 541.

Smallbones, H. G., 612.

Smallpox epidemic (1862), 356.

Smallwood, James, 606.

Smith, Gov. Benjamin, active in re-
sistance to Stamp Act, 92; con-
structs tapia work on the site
of old Ft. Johnston, 135, 137;
gift to the University, 666; gov-
ernor of North Carolina, 135,

Smith, Gov. Benjamin, continued.
634; residence at Belvidere and
Orton, 57; sketch of, 135, 545;
Smith brothers’ controversy, 58,
Smithville named for, 55, 544.

Smith, Mrs. Benjamin (Sarah Dry),
religious experience of, 635;
135, 634.

Smith, Dr. C. Alphonso, quoted, 570,
571.

Smith, David, 141.

Smith, David, jr., editor, 556.

Smith, G. Herbert, director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

Smith, J. A., 566.

Smith, Capt. J. B. (steamboat), 195.

Smith, James, goes to South Caro-
lina, 58; Kendal residence of,
58.

Smith, Rev. James A., sketch of,
361, 362.

Smith, Landgrave, governor of
South Carolina, 135; locates
grant on Cape Fear River
(1692), 36.

Smith, Moody B., eminent member
Wilmington Bar, 566; 231.

Smith, Samuel L., 638.

Smith, W. L., 566.

Smith, Bishop Whiteford, 630.

Smith, William, president of the
Assembly (1739), 49.

Smith, Col. William L., mayor of
Wilmington, 556.

Smith’s Island, Cape Fear Light-
house on, 519; described, 519;
10, 12.

Smithville, county records in de-
stroyed by Federal troops, 142;
county seat, 680; described, 544;
founded by act of Assembly, 54;
General Whiting stationed at,
483; name changed to South-
port, 55, 544; resort of promi-
nent families, 135, 507, 680;
social life of, 202, 203; steam-
boat line to, 138; 244.

Smoot, Rev. Dr. T. A., 631.

Snow’s Marsh Channel, depth and
width of, 11.

Index

725

Snyder, Rev. Dr. W. A., 641.

Social Conditions, 76-80.

Soldiers’ Aid Society, work of, 292,
293.

Solomon, Albert, 646.

Solomon, B., 646.

Sons of Liberty on the Cape Fear.
Assembly at Wilmington, 106;
committees appointed, 106; res-
olutions passed, 107-109.

“Sound” salt works, 505, 506.

Southport, advantageous situation
of, 546, 547; battle with pirates
near present site of, 37; com-
munication with Wilmington,
545, 546; described, 543, 544;
formerly Ft. Johnston and
Smithville, 55, 543, 544, 545.

Spanish invasion (1747), account
of, 49, 50.

Spencer, E. M. S., teacher, 650, 651.

Springer, J. A., 561.

Springer, W. E., 561.

Springs, S., 141.

Sprunt, Alexander, advocates oil to
prevent breaking seas, 529 ;
British consul at Wilmington,
467; founds firm of Alexander
Sprunt & Son, 529; 623, 628.

Sprunt, Alexander & Son, introduce
the new era of steam to Wil-
mington by charter of British
steamer Barnesmore, 501; 529.

Sprunt, Rev. Dr. Alexander, 617,
628.

Sprunt, Mrs. James, an appreciation
of, 587, 588; gave, with Mr.
Sprunt, Marion Sprunt Memo-
rial Building to hospital, 600-
602; report of on historic places
in North Carolina of colonial
date yet unmarked, 584-587;
sketch of and work as president
of the North Carolina Society
of Colonial Dames of America,
579-583.

Sprunt, Rev. Dr. James Menzies,
principal Grove Academy, 329,
363; sketch of, 363.

Sprunt, Jane Dalziel, 628.

Sprunt, John D., 624, 625.

Sprunt, Marion Murchison, memo-
rial to, 600-602.

Sprunt, William H., gave building
to hospital, 600; 561, 601, 602,
625.

Stacey, W. P., 566.

Stallings, Mrs. J. N., 103.

Stamp Act on the Cape Fear.

Directory appointed, 95, 96;

King’s vessels covered, 98;
leaders in opposition to, 65, 92;
military companies formed, 97;
passage of Stamp Act, 87, 91;
patriotic action of February,
1766, 95; patriotic meeting in
Wilmington, 92; patriotic pro-
ceedings of November, 1765, 92-
94; repeal of Stamp Act, 88,
100; resignation of controller,
99; resignation of stamp mas-
ter, 93; Tryon’s letter in refer-
ence to people’s opposition, 104.

Stanlift, J. W., teacher, 650.

State elections, when held, 175.

Steamboat line between Wilmington
and Charleston, 145, 195, 196,
459, 546.

Stedman, Charles M., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566.

Stedman, Rev. J. O., 617.

Steele, Captain, skill of as a block-
ade runner, 407, 408, 439, 440.

Stephens, Hon. A. H., visits Wil-
mington, 216.

Sterrett, Captain (steamboat), 195.

Stetson, Miss, teacher, 238.

Stevenson, Daniel S., sketch of, 362.

Stevenson, James C., sketch of, 362.

Stevenson, Maj. James M., in com-
mand at Ft. Johnston, 280;
sketch of, 362; 320.

Stevenson, Capt. William M., sketch
of, 363.

Stewart, Andrew, sets up second
printing press in North Caro-
lina (1763), 556.

Stewart, James, 78.

726

Index

Stewart, Patrick, 78.

Stickle, Maj. W. H., reports of
quoted, 13.

Stokes, Col. M. S., 321.

Story, Rev. J. C., 626.

Strange, Bishop Robert, bishop of
East Carolina, 610, 613; memo-
rial sketch of, 575-577; 318,583.

Strange, Mrs. Robert, quoted, 583.

Strange, Robert, jr., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566; 212,
228, 253.

Strange, R. W., 566.

Strauss, Alexander, report of on
condition of Old Ship Channel
(1870), 9.

Stringer, William, editor, 179.

Strode, Porter, 214.

Strong, Major, aide-de-camp to Gen-
eral Whiting, 454.

Strudwick, Betsy, 64.

Strudwick, Edmund, Stag Park and
Hawfields residences of, 64.

Strudwick, Dr. Edmund, 64.

Strudwick, Samuel, sketch of, 64.

Strudwick, Maj. William, 64.

Styron, Capt. C. W., assists with
sick and wounded Confederates
when Wilmington is taken, 356.

Stuart, Kate, sketch of, 682.

Sugar Loaf, battle with Indians at,
14, 16; Confederate intrenched
camp on, 381; probable site of
last Indian settlement on the
Federal Point peninsula, 18; 38,
58.

Sullivan, Rev. J. A., 639.

Sumter, Confederate cruiser, 478.

Sutton, Rev. T. H., 632.

Swain, Gov. D. L., N. C. commis-
sioner to Peace Congress, 268;
presides over Internal Improve-
ment Convention, 148.

Swampy Branch, named by explor-
ers, 27.

Swann, John, jr., 141.

Swann, Dr. John, 226.

Swann? Maj. John, active in resist-
ance to Stamp Act, 97 ; com-

Swann, Maj. John, continued.

mands troops against Spaniards,
50; commissioned to assist in
erecting Ft. Johnston, 53; Rocky
Point residence of, 44, 92;

Swann Point residence of, 71.

Swann, Speaker Samuel, active in
resistance to Stamp Act, 97;
justice County Court (1777),
186; member New Hanover
County Committee of Safety,
111; Oaks residence of, 71;
Rocky Point residence of, 92.

Swash Defence Dam, description of,

12.

Swift, Capt. Alexander J., assists in
constructing Ft. Caswell, 379,
547 ; in charge of works at the
mouth of Cape Fear River, 379;
one of the batteries at Ft. Cas-
well named for, 547.

Swift, Gen. Joseph G., describes his
work on Ft. Johnston and life
at Smithville, 134-138; 379.

Taft, President William H., enter-
tained by Mr. James Sprunt,
540, 541, 583; visits Wilming-
ton, 208, 540-542, 583.

Tait, Col. George, sketch of, 307;
303.

Tait, Capt. Robert, 303.

Tallahassee, Confederate cruiser,
478.

Tallichet, Prof. Henri, 657.

Tamborrella, Professor, 657.

Tate, Rev. James, chaplain in Revo-
lution, 120; teacher, 655.

Taylor, Archibald, 615.

Taylor, C. E., jr., director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

Taylor, Gen. Dick, 308.

Taylor, J. A., opinion of on munici-
pal government, 552, 553; seeks
to connect Cape Fear River
with Coastal Canal, 548.

Taylor, Capt. Jacob W., 320.

Taylor, Rev. James B., 636, 637.

Taylor, John A., 219, 535, 617.

Index

727

Taylor, Col. John D., sketch of, 303-
305; 172, 380.

Taylor, J. W., 638.

Taylor, Mrs. J. W., 638.

Taylor, Maj. M. P., military service
of, 294, 363.

Taylor, Thomas E., finds the body
of Mrs. Greenhow, 490; narra-
tive by, 435-448.

Taylor, Col. Walker, collector of
customs, 595; organizes Boys’
Brigade, 588-591; 561.

Taylor, Gen. Zachary, 491.

Telfair, James, 249.

Terry, Gen. A. H., commands land
attack on Ft. Fisher, 493, 494;
pursues General Hoke, 499;
takes possession of Wilming-
ton, 495.

Terry, Rev. R. E., 611, 612.

Tew, Col. C. C., in command at Ft.
Macon, 342, 343.

Thalian Association, history of, 248-
257.

Thalian Hall, built, 257; 220, 221.

Thomas, Hon. Charles R., aids in
securing appropriation for new
custom house, 596; secures
appropriation for Moore’s Creek
monument, 113; 541.

Thomas, George G., 243.

Thomas, J. W., 535.

Thompson, John R., editor, 564.

Thompson, Joseph E., 561.

Thorn, Federal transport, sunk by
torpedo in Cape Fear River,
499, 500.

“Thoroughfare,” Maultsby land
grant opposite, 45; 14.

“Thunder and Lightning” house, 184.

Thurston, Col. S. D., action of in
taking Ft. Caswell not sustained
by Governor Ellis, 278; assists
in taking Ft. Caswell later by
the Governor’s order, 277;
sketch of, 297.

Tilden, Eleazar, 141.

Tognio, Dr. J., 169.

Tolson, Rev. G. M., 638.

Toomer, Henry, active in resistance
to the Stamp Act, 92.

Toomer, Mrs., 141.

Torrey, Rev. Dr. R. A., 617.

Town Creek, first settlers disem-
bark at, 31, 142; improvement
of, 13.

Town Creek Plantation, Governor
Dobbs buried on, 87.

Townes, W. A., 566.

Town House, first public building
in Wilmington, 591, 592.

Travis, Rev. Mr., 634.

Trawick, Rev. C. W., 626.

Tryon, Gov. William, builds palace,
88; governor when patriots re-
sist Stamp Act, 91-100; post-
pones convening of the Assem-
bly, 91; quoted, 53; Russell-
borough residence of, 104-106;
sketch and administration of,
87, 88; vestry of St. James’s
replies to, 607; Wilmington
residence of, 593.

Tryon’s Palace, history and ruins
of, 103-106; monument at, 581;
on Orton Plantation, 59; relics
of, 142, 143.

Turkey Quarters, named by explor-
ers, 28.

Turner, Hon. Josiah, public service
of as an editor, 564.

Turner, W. P. M., 566.

Tuscarora, blockader, 481.

Tuttle, Rev. D. H., 631.

Tyler, Rev. A. P., 631.

Tyler, President John, vice-presi-
dential campaign of, 175-177.

Ulysses, Scotch trading vessel of
1773, brings stores to Bruns-
wick, 39.

University of North Carolina, char-
ter of, 545; contributions of
Cape Fear people to, 666, 667;
first benefactor of, 545; library
of, 544, 545.

Upper Cape Fear, Loyalists in, 114.

Urquhart, Henry, 141.

728

Index

Usher, James, 141.

Usina,i Capt. M. P., narrative by,
415-435; sketch of, 415.

Utley, Rev. C. H., 639.

Van Amringe, Cyrus Stowe, 287.

Van Benthuysen, commander naval
detachment at Ft. Fisher, 385.

Van Bokkelen, A. H., 184, 253, 659.

Van Bokkelen, Capt. John F. S.,
sketch of, 363, 364; 242, 285.

Vance, Gov. Zebulon B., colonel of
a North Carolina regiment, 453;
elected governor, 453, 454; ship
named for, 454; 571.

Van Cleft, John M., 161.

Vanderbilt, blockader, 473.

Vanderbilt, runs the blockade, 459;
steamer on line to Charleston,
145, 195.

Vassall, Henry, fails to bring relief
to colony, 35; promotes settle-
ment, 31.

Vassal, John, leading promoter of
Charlestown settlement, 30, 31;
sends explorers, 31; unable to
hold colonists, 32 ; writes of fail-
ure of Charlestown settlement,
35, 36.

Van Viel, Caroline, 191.

Venable, Hon. Abraham W., 223,
225.

Venable, Dr. Francis P., quoted, 15,
667.

Vickers, Rev. T. C., 632.

Viper, H. B. M.’s sloop of war, 45,
96.

Vipperman, Rev. J. L., 638.

Visit to the Cape Fear (1734), 40-45.

Visit to the Highland settlement,
123-127.

Voigt, Rev. Dr. A. G.} 641.

Von Borcke, Major, 470.

Waccamaw Lake, description of
(1734), 43, 44.

Waddell, Col. Alfred Moore, account
of writings of, 574, 575; de-
scendant of Sir John Yeamans,
104; editor, 558; eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566; ex-
member of Congress, 541;
mayor, 451? 598, 599; narratives
by, 55, 56, 290, 291, 408 ; quoted,
142, 554, 606; sketch of, 307;
305, 318, 555, 573, 583, 644.

Waddell, Mrs. Alfred Moore, ex-
perience of on a blockade run-
ner, 451; president North Caro-
lina Society of Colonial Dames
of America, 583; 657.

Waddell, F. N., 253.

Waddell, F. N., jr., 234.

Waddell, Col. Hugh, at Alamance,
118; leader in resistance to
Stamp Act, 53, 96-98; officer in
French and Indian War, 119;
72.

Waddell, John, residence of, 57.

Wade, Captain (steamboat), 195.

Wainwright, Rev. J. A., 611.

Walker, Alvis, 121, 172.

Walker, Calhoun, 121.

Walker, Carlton, 66.

Walker, Capt. George, 121.

Walker, Henry, 121.

Walker, James, gives hospital to
Wilmington, 598; sketch of,
597; 644.

Walker, Capt. James, member Wil-
mington Committee of Safety,
111; sketch of, 136, 137; 135.

Walker, James W., teacher, 649.

Walker, John, 176.

Walker, Maj. John, residence of,
186; 66, 121, 212, 216, 218, 224,
252,

Walker, John M., 242, 243.

Walker, John Moseley, 66.

Walker, Maj. John (Jack), active
in resistance to Stamp Act, 92;
Revolutionary officer, 120, 121;
54, 615.

1Since printing the text, it has been found that Captain Usina did not belong to Charles-
ton. He was born in St. Augustine, Florida, and was a resident of Savannah prior to the war
and afterwards.

Index

729

Walker, Dr. Joshua C., 121, 356, 357.

Walker, Julius H., 249.

Walker, Louisa, 135.

Walker, Maj. Norman S., Confed-
erate agent at Bermuda, 402.

Walker, Justice Platt Dickinson,
(Supreme Court), 241, 242, 243.

Walker, P. M., 212, 226.

Walker, Robert, 137.

Walker, Sergeant, U. S. A., 280.

Walker, Hon. Thomas D., 121, 187.

Walker, W. M., second in Wilkings-
Flanner duel, 234-236.

Walker, Willie A., 170.

Wallace, Rev. B. E., 626.

Wallace, S. D., 212.

Walsh, Rev. M., 191.

Walter, T. U., architect, 608.

Walters, Henry, develops A. C. L.
R. R. after the war, 668, 669.

War between the States.

Amusing incident in early war
preparations, 282, 283; Confed-
erate heroes, sketch of, 295-368;
decline in Confederate money,
414; foreign intervention hoped
for, 285; Ft. Fisher falls, 383-
386, 492-494; fortifying Confed-
erate Point, 281; General
Hospital No. 4, 356; General
Whiting and Courier Murphy,
274, 275; Governor Ellis orders
Ft. Caswell restored to U. S.
authorities, 278; Governor Ellis
orders Ft. Caswell and Ft.
Johnston taken after firing on
Ft. Sumter, 279; history of the
Third Infantry Regiment, 273,
274; lawless conditions, 413;
Lee’s starving soldiers, 468;
Memorial Association, account
of, 275, 276, 292; military prep-
arations, 272; minute men take
Ft. Caswell and Ft. Johnston,
277; North Carolina’s naval
force, 353; North Carolina
sends delegates to the peace
congresses, 268; Oak Island de-
fences, 380; people of the Cape
Fear fired by Lincoln’s call for

War between the States, continued.
troops, 271; Rebel Rangers cap-
ture Federal gunboat, 353, 354;
secession, on the eve of, 268-
271; secession sentiment in the
Cape Fear, 277; secession senti-
ment in North Carolina divided,
269, 277; services to the Con-
federacy of Mrs. Armand J.
DeRosset, 292-294; Soldiers’ Aid
Society, work of, 258, 275, 292,
414; Southern railroads in war
times, condition of, 289-291,
468; use of torpedoes in the
Cape Fear River, 499, 500; war
inaugurated in North Carolina
a month prior to secession, 280;
war prices in Wilmington, 288,
413, 414; Washington Peace

Congress, account of and George
Davis’ report on, 268-270; Wil-
mington captured, 495-499. See
Wilmington.

War of Jenkins’ Ear, cause of, 50-
52; North Carolina troops in,
51, 52.

Ward, Richard, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Ware, Dr. William, 194.

Washington, President, character of
contrasted with that of the
Duke of Marlborough, 221,222;
diary of quoted, 209; Edward
Everett’s address on, 221, 222;
serves under Innes, 52; visits
Wilmington, 208, 209.

Water Witch, U. S. steamer cap-
tured by Lieutenant Price, 358.

Watkins, William, 78.

Watson, Bishop Alfred A., church of
taken for Federal hospital, 609;
sketch of, 364.

Watson, John, assists in laying off
Newton (1733), 48. See Wil-
mington.

Watson, Rev. N. M., 631.

Watters, Samuel, member N. C.
Sons of Liberty, 106; Revolu-
tionary officer, 120.

Watters, William, 69.

730

Index

Watts, J. T., 252.

Wayfarer’s Adieu (Poem), 244-247.

Webster, Hon. Daniel, appreciates
Southern cooking, 219, 220;

visits Wilmington, 217-219; 227.

Weeks, C. D., 566.

Weil, I. H., 181, 185.

Weill, Abraham, 646.

Welch, Rev. E. R., 632.

Wells, Rev. Dr. John M., narrative
by, 590, 591; 617, 627.

West, “Sonny,” 242.

Western Bar, blockading fleet at,
399, 469, 470; one of the ap-
proaches to Cape Fear River,
392, 411; 471, 686. See Main
Bar.

Whipple, Miss, teacher, 238.

Whistler, James Abbott McNeill,
249.

White, Capt. Harvey, 334.

White, John, agent of North Caro-
lina in England during the war,
454.

Whitefield, Rev. George, preaches in
Wilmington, 616.

Whitfield, Needham, 126.

Whitfield, William, 126.

Whiting, Gen. W. H. C., advises
General Bragg, 492; commands
Cape Fear defences, 281, 308;
commands Cape Fear district,
282, 284, 353, 483, 484; confi-
dence inspired by, 485; contro-
versy of with Commodore Lynch,
487; death of, 386; encourages
Courier Murphy, 274; heroism
in the attack on Ft. Fisher, 296,
385, 386, 493, 494; Lieutenant
Cushing’s message to, 490; re-
port of quoted, 359, 383-385;
sketch of, 295, 296, 483, 484;
293, 324.

Whiting, Mrs. W. H. C., 121, 295, 502.

Whiting, Capt. H. C., 380.

Whitlock, Rev. C. F., 639.

Whitney, Lieutenant (cutter Semi-
nole), 541.

Wiggins, Capt. O. A., sketch of, 364,
365.

Wiley, Dr. Calvin H., develops pub-
lic school system, 658, 659.

Wilkes, Commodore Charles, U. S. N.,
attacks blockade runner at
Nassau, 417; report of on Cape
Fear coal, 204.

Wilkes, , teacher, 656.

Wilkings, Dr. W. C., 231-237.

Wilkings, Winslow S., 190.

Wilkings-Flanner duel, account of,
231-237.

Wilkinson, John, member N. C. Sons
of Liberty, 106.

Wilkinson, Capt. John, commands
C. S. cruiser Chickamauga, 406;
fails to enter Charleston after
the fall of Ft. Fisher, 476; nar-
ratives by, 410-415, 468-475;

runs the blockade 21 times in
command of the R. E. Lee, 388.

Willard, James A., 611.

Willard, Mrs. Martin S., 572.

Williams, Capt. A. B., sketch of,
365, 366.

Williams, A. S., 566.

Williams, Capt. David, military serv-
ice of, 366.

Williams, Capt. E. D., given knowl-
edge of mines in the Cape Fear
River, 500.

Williams, George W., 348.

Williams, John D., 348.

Williams, Col. John Pugh, residence
of, 71.

Williams, J. S., 253.

Williams, Capt. Robert, service in
war and death of, 366; 303.

Williamson, Hugh, historian, quo-
ted, 556.

Willington, William, 465.

Willis, Rev. R. A., 631.

Willow Spring Branch, 161.

Wills, Rev. Mr., last rector of St.
James’s under the colonial gov-
ernment, 607, 608.

Wilmer, Bishop Richard H., 608.

Wilmington.

Action of patriots of 1766, 95,
96,100-102; Bench and Bar, ac-
count of, 174, 186, 187, 565, 566;

Index

731

Wilmington, continued.

bill to incorporate rejected, 149;
boy home guards, 414; British
occupation of, 114, 118, 608;
British evacuation of, 116;
business and professional men
of 1850, 198-200; Cape Fear pa-
triots enter into an association
in, 95; capture of, 495-499;
changes in during the war,
283-289; commerce and trade
of, 156-158, 197, 198, 501-514,
686; Committee on Internal
Improvements, 148; Committee
of Safety, action of, 8, 54, 110-
112, 358; Committee of the Sons
of Liberty, 106-109; custom
house, account of new building,
594-597; defence of, 113, 495-
499, 484, 485; during the

blockade, 483-492; entrepot of
the Confederacy, 389; erection
of, 45-49; fire companies, ac-
count of, 537, 538; fires in, 140-

144, 534-537, 230, 231; first

commissioners of, 48; growth
of, 139, 683-685; importance of
to the Confederacy, 282, 283,
295, 392; incorporation of, 46-
49; jobbing business in, 684;
manufacturers in, 684; mer-
chant shipbuilders in, 145, 156;
military companies and officers
of (1861-65), 273; “minute

men” of 1861, action of, 275,
295; municipal government in,
account of, 174, 549-553; popu-
lation of, (1781) 114, (1791)
209, (1820) 139, (1840) 162,

180; port of, 507; port of dur-
ing the war, 389-393; President
Wilson’s youth in, 542, 543;
public spirit and enterprise of,

145, 196, 197; public utilities
in, 676, 677; results of the
Revolution of 1898 in, 555;
situation of, 7, 683; subscribers
for improvements of Cape Fear
River, 145; taxable property in,
684 ; threatened by British, 113 ;

Wilmington, continued.

visits of presidents to, 208-213,
540-542; war prices in, 288, 413;
yellow fever in, 140, 284-287,
356, 447.

Wilmington, boat on the Charleston
line, 169, 195, 459.

Wilmington, colonial trading ves-
sel, 39.

Wilmington in the Forties.

Annual hiring of slaves, 179,
180; buildings, 184, 188-190;

conditions and customs, 162-
164; conduct of traffic, 167;
courts and judges, 174, 193, 194;
elections, 175; fire of January
17 and 18, 1840, 189-191; Har-
rison log cabin in Wilmington,
176, 177; lawyers, 187 (See
Wilmington Bench and Bar) ;
mail routes and postage, 165,
166; manner of conducting
business, 166-168; militia, 173,
174, 193, 194; morus multicaulis
craze, 168; newspapers, 177-179,
180, 181; physicians and medi-
cal practice, 164, 182-184; popu-
lation, 162, 180; presidential
campaign of 1840, 175-177, 189;
railroads, condition of, 196;
river boats and their command-
ers, 195 (See steamboat line to
Charleston ) ; river lighting, 196
(See Cape Fear River) ; schools
and teachers, 164, 165, 170-173,
174, 186, 191, 192; topography
of Wilmington, 159-162, 164;
town commissioners, 174;
trade, 166; truck farming, 168,
169, 173; Washingtonian tem-
perance movement, 166; whip-
ping post, 187; W. and W. Rail-
road, 194-196. (See Railroads.)

Wimble, James, assists in laying out
Newton, 45.

Wimble’s map, reference to, 2, 7.

Winder, Capt. John C., chief engi-
neer in Cape Fear defences,
281; 308.

Wingate, E. H., 252.

732

Index

Winklen, Rev. Dr. E. T., 636.

Winslow, Hon. Warren, 232.

Winsted, Maj. John, escapes from
Johnson’s Island, 345.

Withington, E., 252.

Wood, Rev. Frank, 631.

Wood, Robert B., 154, 218.

Wood, Dr. Thomas F., editor, 560;
narrative by, 284-286; sketch
of, 366, 367.

Woodbury, Gen. Daniel F., in
charge of Cape Fear River im-
provement, 145.

Wooster, H., 141.

Wooster, John, 190.

Wooster, Lieut. John L., military
service of, 367.

Wooster, William A., military serv-
ice of, 367.

Wooten, Rev. J.. C., 631.

Worth, Archie, 242.

Worth, B. G., active in school de-
velopment, 660.

Worth, C. W., director in Tide
Water Power Company, 677.

Worth, David, 305.

Worth, David G., 515.

Worth, Dr. George C., 617.

Worth, Mrs. George C., 617.

Worth, Thomas Clarkson, heroism
of in yellow fever epidemic,
287.

Wortham, A. Adj. George, 279.

Wright, Dr. A. E., service of in
war, 367; 356.

Wright, Sir Charles, last royal
governor of Georgia, 249.

Wright, Charles J., 249.

Wright, James, member New Han-
over County Committee of
Safety, 111.

Wright, Capt. James A., military
service of, 367; 172, 253.

Wright, Judge J. G., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566; 212,

Wright, Joshua G., eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 187, 566.

Wright, Lieut. Joshua Grainger,
sketch of, 367, 368.

Wright, J. Hill, 253.

Wright, Maj. Thomas Charles,
sketch of, 367.

Wright, Thomas H., 242, 243.

Wright, Dr. Thomas H., director W.
and W. R. R., 150, 151; 214,
219, 224, 251, 367, 650.

Wright, Tom (little), 240.

Wright, William A., commissioner
of schools, 174; director W. and
W. R. R., 152; eminent mem-
ber Wilmington Bar, 566; 187,
212, 214.

Wright, Willie Gus, 242.

Wright, Lieut. William Henry,
sketch of, 249.

Wylie, Captain, officer blockade
runner Advance, 455.

Yadkin, Confederate gunboat, 480-
482.

Yancey, Bartlett, author bill creat-
ing “Literary Fund,” 658.

Yates, Charles W., sketch of, 368;
561.

Yates, Daniel, 638.

Yates, Rev. Dr. E. A., 631.

Yates, Mrs. Mary, 638.

Yeamans, Sir John, governor
Charlestown (N. C.) settlement,
31; governor Charlestown (S.
C.) settlement, 32; visits Cape
Fear, 33; 104.

Yopon (shrub), description of, 15.

Young, Rev. W. M., 636.

Younger, Eliza, 135.

Yulee, Senator David L ., president
Florida R. R., 156.

Zeke’s Island, 10, 11.

g\ Cl

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